Liontamer

I don't know. If someone's has a pro-social conservative thread, I'd like to reserve the right to come into their thread and call them a dumbass too. So I don't co-sign on this.

Excellent.

The drumwork at 1:02 was also kind of bland, despite the great cymbals and creative fills. Can't say I felt the same way about the snare as OA; it's not terrible, it just lacks energy and mostly serves as a vanilla metronome. Not sure what you could do to tweak that, but my opinion is that the drums don't have much synergy with the Eastern instrumentation. That's the 1-2 punch on what's not working here. The rigid timing and mechanical sequencing is definitely what does this in, which is a shame because the samples themselves are solid and the arrangement is AWESOME. See what you can do to get the leads sounding less mechanical and you'd have an easy pass. NO (resubmit)

The submitter mentioned Shiro Hamaguchi as an arranger. Is any of this sub based off pre-existing Hamaguchi arrangements? Would anyone be familiar with it, or has anyone looked into it?

The electronica synth stuff at :53 & 2:49 sounded very out-of-the-box FL defaulty; not great, but it wasn't awful. Overall, what counts though is I'm really loving the overall direction and creativity of the arrangement. The woodwind sequencing (1:22-1:32) wasn't great, but it was brief, so the sequencing wasn't a huge hit for not sounding organic and human. The hand percussion sounded all sorts of crazy and energetic though. Interesting dropoff at 2:34 that worked nicely before building things back up for the finish. Some people might have a problem with the fadeout, but forget 'em, it was a perfectly reasonable way to end it. There were no source usage concerns here at all, and I didn't need the breakdown. Great usage of "Stalker," really altering it rhythmically to give it a completely different kind of energy without messing with it too much melodically. Just a really fresh take on things and a solid sub. It's not perfectly executed, but definitely a really nice suprise here. I really can't wait to hear how Guilherme gets more deadly with his music as he improves his production chops and refines his sample articulations, but I'm feeling like the best is yeat to come. Nice work, bro! YES

The opening beats sounded a little weak, but as everything came in, the textures filled out well enough. Wow, super rigid fakey piano, much in the style of a lot of Eastern arrangements. The strings are also not very realistic, but they have some nice body to them and the style is purposeful, albeit not pulled off as well as it could be. The production is nice overall and lends a nice spacey quality to everything. Weird instrument cameo at 2:35. What was the point of that? It just sounded dissimmilar to the mood of the rest of the song. Luckily there wasn't any more of that. I'm definitely on the fence here. The piano and string are so rigid, and the mechanical piano definitely sounded weaker around 3:10 for the finish, making me wish it hadn't have been brought back without some further refinement. Vig had me laughing about the string writing being nearly all super rigid half-notes. I like what I'm hearing and can definitely be OK with this being posted as is. I wanted to go YES, but deep down I can't justify it and feel comfortable with that with the execution as is. The mechanical strings coupled with the mechanical piano are a little too much for my blood, the strings being a lot more problematic than the piano. If everything hadn't come back for another go at 2:38, I probably could have lived with it, but it's not a short piece, so you really have to be comfortable listening to 3 1/2 minutes of super mechanical instruments and not be thrown off by it. Don't change a thing about the arrangement itself, just refine the articulations a bit. Even if the overall sound of the piano and strings is still the same, the articulations can be refined some in order to not stick out like a sore thumb as they're doing now. Since they're your leads and so prominent, it's difficult to get past. Good luck with the rest of the vote, and I hope we hear more from you either way, Erik, this is a solid arrangement. NO (refine/resubmit)

I had my own thoughts, but pretty much this, so I'm quoting it in full. The opening JENOVA melody is pretty much made to sound like a photocopy of the original, and there isn't much interpretation beyond the adaptation to guitar. The other area you had to really put your own spin on things with interpretation and originality, the supporting instrumentation, was too sparse-sounding with inhuman velocities that weakened the overall sound. I thought the guitar performance was solid enough in a vacuum. It could be more powerful & expressive, but it was capable, it's just that the other pieces, especially the drums, aren't working. The velocities issue Fishy mentioned is primarily what hurt this. The original section for the second half was solidly composed for the most part, but the drums and other supporting instrumentation were flimsy and left the background feeling a too empty and underdeveloped. Some additional fleshing and humanizing of the background instruments would get this sounding more expressive. And adding some more creative, personalized ideas for the first half would help that part of the arrangement sound more unique and developed. I liked the original part in the second half and thought it pieced together nicely with the JENOVA arrangement that opened it up, so once you got the supporting instrumentation ironed out a bit, it sounds like everything could be clicking. I definitely hope you give this one another shot, Cory, and see what more can be done with it. NO

We. Don't. Care. Because. It. Tastes. AMAZING. QUOTED FOR TRUTH! McRIB!

Your ReMixer name - Omigadrive Featuring VikingGuitar Your real name - Glenn Elliott Your email address - glennelliott19@yahoo.co.uk Your website - N/A although the track is from Vampire Variations so " Www.vampirevariations.com " if you need one. Your userid - 46074 (Hope I got that right =D) Link to Track Games arranged - Castlevania, Super Castlevania IV Arrangement name - Veneficus Mens Mentis (Variations on a Theme of Simon) Songs Used - Poison Mind, The Theme of Simon Belmont and an ever so tiny tip of the hat to Bloody Tears. I'm going to assume the information on this track is already on the site since well... it's Castlevania! This is the track I did for the upcoming Vampire Variations album. It's based on a fairly old idea I had of using the 4 chord rhythm from the intro of The Theme of Simon Belmont with the melody work of Poison Mind. I can't speak much for the technical side of things since my musical knowledge is limited to knowing what a C and D chord is and that is it but the track is laid out to evoke the feeling of Simon Belmont taking on a boss. I kept the segment using Simon's Theme close to the original except for the choice of instrumentation here and there. My reason for that was that it is ultimately a small section of the song by comparison and yet for only 1 minute and 30 seconds of music the original track just had that much going on to begin with. I took a few more liberties with the Poison Mind segments, playing around with subtle yet different rhythms to the chord progression used beneath the melody lines and extending runs from the main melody into something that I felt was more fluid. VikingGuitar provided the guitar solo towards the end as well as doing the final mastering of the track. If I had anything technical to add, I would... really need to find where I put that music theory book. Glenn (Omigadrive) Ps; If I messed something up in the submission I'd appreciate you letting me know for the future =D ------------------------------------------------------------ - "Poison Mind" - "Theme of Simon Belmont"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMvLGEys2WU - "Bloody Tears" Arrangement-wise, it's pretty melodically conservative, so most of the interpretation comes from the live performances and supporting instrumentation. It's probably enough to get by IMO, though more melodic interpretation would have been welcome. The string triggering didn't sound natural, but it was serviceable enough to get by. The supporting instrumentation in many areas felt too soft or sparse, leaving the overall soundscape emptier than you'd expect (e.g. the drums always, the slowly bowed strings from 3:26-3:42, vox from 3:10-3:25 & 3:50-4:04). Don't know if it's just me, but the plain-sounding drum writing (:54-1:11, 1:18-2:14) dragged this down for me, particularly during the Theme of Simon bridge (1:34-1:50). Things finally got more progressive at 2:38 to at least lend some energy and dynamics to the rest of the track, though the drum tone itself lacked power. The drum writing clearly doesn't need to be that crazy all the time, but the beginning patterns need some more creativity and energy. Some solid shredding (I'm assuming from VikingGuitar) at 4:06 for about 10 seconds (sounded great!), followed by some male choir stuff before hitting the strings & organ and then finally moving into some cool harpsichord stuff at 5:05 for the close. I'm liking the overall concept, but the execution needs some more power and polish. If you're willing to take another pass at the drums & the production to beef some of the sounds up and fully realize the potential here, I'd love to hear it. Hopefully the other Js can give some more targeted production advice. NO (resubmit)

http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=32414 http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20433 Before the end of this year (or after MAGFest at the latest hopefully), everything on the site will be corrected/updated and we'll have brand new torrents.

Updated or removed the dead links. Thanks! As for the orange links on the workshop pages, they're all borked; djp left out a slash in his code somewhere.

F anyone saying bad things about the McRib! F you all, slanderers! You have no taste and/or class! McRIB! P.S. The coloring of the McRib letters is akin to the delicious barbecue sauce included in the McRib!

I decided to make a playlist loosely based on Halloween. Just being from a dark, Gothic, or quirky game wasn't enough to make this list; I tended to limit it to mixes with spooky moods and eerie or gothic instrumentation, along with a few curveballs. No hate to anyone/any song not on the list, as I just took a quick scan through everything to put this together. Feel free to offer your own suggestions and spooky recommendations! Updated as of OC ReMix #3996. ENJOY! https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01293 - Aetherius - Donkey Kong Country 'Clouded Mind and Ringing Ears' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00304 - aneurySm - Super Mario World 'The Dark Reaches of SMW' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03409 - Archangel - Final Fantasy IX 'Ambitious Whispers, Immoral Chants' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02721 - Argle - Final Fantasy VI 'The Endless Stair' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02443 - audio fidelity, Children of the Monkey Machine - Final Fantasy IV 'RDX Necklace' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01821 - Beatdrop, Children of the Monkey Machine - Castlevania III 'Demon Seed (Corrupted Infatuation)' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01772 - Beckett007 - Splatterhouse 3 'Call of the Mask' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01431 - Bladiator, The Orichalcon - Doom 'Jade Spawn' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03827 - bLiNd, Chimpazilla - Super Mario World 'Nine Inch Super Mushrooms' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03044 - Chernabogue - 3-D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night 'Welcome to Our Castle#39; https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00601 - Children of the Monkey Machine - Chrono Trigger 'Ruined World (Eternal Derelict)' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00850 - Children of the Monkey Machine - Super Metroid 'Maridia (Drowned in Exile)' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01028 - Children of the Monkey Machine - Super Metroid 'Norfair (Frailty Awaiting)' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01693 - Children of the Monkey Machine, Steve Pordon - Solstice 'Demnos Inquisitor' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00896 - CrimsonZeal - Super Mario World 'Ghosts of the Marble Hall' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00431 - Daknit, Eric Dude - Resident Evil 2 'Lost Sanctuary' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01387 - Danny Baranowsky - Doom 'The Dark Side of Phobos' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00975 - Danny Baranowsky - Final Fantasy IX 'Black Magic Synthesis' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00558 - DarK PurPLe - Super Mario Bros. 2 'The DarK Underground' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01567 - David L. Puga, DragonAvenger - Banjo-Kazooie 'In the Darkness Lies' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03591 - David L. Puga, Mak Eightman - Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles '(Progeny) Of a Frail Humanity' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01317 - Dennis Mott - Castlevania II 'Cursed Bloodline' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01401 - Dhsu - Castlevania III 'A Clockwork Vampire' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01542 - Dhsu - Super Mario World 'Koopa vs. Kefka' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01740 - djpretzel - Doom II 'Red Waltz' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03761 - DS - Undertale 'Gaster's Legacy' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00908 - ella guro - Super Mario World 'Da Phunky Forest' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03011 - Farkle, Annette DiMedio - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 'Marble Bombast' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02921 - Forrest Fire - Super Mario Bros. 'The King Awaits' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00824 - Ghetto Lee Lewis - Friday the 13th 'Panic at Camp Crystal' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03433 - HeavenWraith - Doom 'Army Worthy of Phobos' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03332 - HoboKa - Breath of Fire II 'Jaded by Death' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03996 - HoboKa - Silent Hill 2 'Numbness & Knives' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00004 - Instant Remedy - Ghosts'n Goblins 'Trance Version' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00369 - Isopropyl - Final Fantasy VII 'Opressed Swamp Dub' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01739 - Jillian Aversa, zircon - Super Metroid 'Kindred' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02119 - Joshua Morse - Castlevania III 'Demonic Conception' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01865 - Kadmium - Doom 'Asphyxiated Soul' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02523 - katethegreat19 - Silent Hill 2 'Where the Demon Sleeps' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01536 - Makke - Cauldron II 'It's Binary, Baby! Album Mix' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01263 - Mazedude - 7th Guest 'Dolls from Hell' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01491 - Mazedude - 7th Guest 'Microscopism' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02915 - Mazedude - Doom II 'Opening to Hades' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01894 - Mazedude - Doom II 'Silent Healer' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01651 - Mazedude - EarthBound 'Zombie Lounge' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01589 - Mazedude - God of War 'Minotaur Nightmares' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02314 - Mazedude - Metroid Prime 'Parasite X' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02231 - Meteo Xavier - Final Fantasy V 'Twisted Devil, Grinding Soul' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00387 - MkVaff - Super Castlevania IV 'Death Trance' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00694 - Mr_44 - Rez 'Fear (Arrakis: GIGA)' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00218 - mutagene - Shenmue 'Matsuri Madness' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03372 - N4L4 - Super Mario World 'The Moon of Bowser' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01773 - Nekofrog, Sole Signal - Banjo-Kazooie 'Malevolent Mansion' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01262 - Nixdorux - Super Mario World 'Ghost' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03417 - NoTuX - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island 'Plastic Smile' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03351 - Pavos - Chrono Trigger 'The Dark Defender' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02784 - Phonetic Hero - Sonic CD (US) 'Yours Truly, Satan' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02113 - PrototypeRaptor - Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil 'Devil's Advocate' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01608 - Random Hero - Addams Family 'Nightmare on Cemetery Lane' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01872 - Random Hero - New Super Mario Bros. 'Plumber's Bane: I. Don't Look Back!' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03109 - Redg - Donkey Kong Country 'Banish' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03449 - Redg - Doom 'Helljam II' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03509 - RoeTaKa - Bloodborne 'Mergo Reborn' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03407 - RoeTaKa - Bloodborne 'Undone by the Blood' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03043 - RoeTaKa - Demon's Souls 'Epitaph for Boletaria' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03251 - Sam Dillard - Super Castlevania IV 'The Night King's Lament' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02139 - Sergiu Muresan - Final Fantasy IV 'Crazy Old Betty' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03271 - Slimy - Super Castlevania IV 'Deadly Furniture' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03343 - Slimy - Super Castlevania IV 'Dracula's Secretaries' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00741 - The Fat Man - 7th Guest 'Fat Dance' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01330 - The Orichalcon - Final Fantasy VI 'The Haunted Train Disco' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02274 - Theophany - Super Metroid 'Avien' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00407 - Trace Dragon XVI K - Jurassic Park 'Raptor Waltz' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03445 - YoshiBlade - Chrono Trigger 'Fritz Was Here' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03451 - YoshiBlade - Pokémon Red Version 'Marowak's Revenge' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03272 - YoshiBlade - Super Mario World & Castlevania (N64) 'Very... Very Wrong Castle' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01558 - zircon - Super Mario World 'Monstrous Turtles!' https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03012 - Zone Runners (DiGi Valentine, halc, UV Sir J) - Sonic Adventure 2 'Graveyard Theory'

The bomb. Great source, great arrangement. Loving that Sir J gave Gitaroo Man's soundtrack some love (and exposure, since it's awesome). GITAROOOOOOO!

Thanks very much for making us aware of this story. I had no idea until today, unfortunately, and hadn't seen the previous story before that, regarding the bone marrow transplant.

Yes, we clearly hate enjoyable music. If it sounds like a submission could be enjoyable, we vote NO. In fact, people come to the site specifically to download unenjoyable music. Our rules are set up so that you don't even have to use the source material at all, we just put video game characters on the site to trick the users. Kidding aside, it sounds like William visited that old Shizz thread and misconstrued things. 1) A submission doesn't need to fit our personal tastes to vote YES on it. We also don't vote NO because a song doesn't fit our personal tastes. That's open-minded. 2) If a submission's arrangement or production doesn't meet the site's standards, we'll vote NO even if we enjoy the song in a vacuum. For example, we won't YES covers that are too low on interpretation, even if the performance and production are enjoyable. Close covers can be fine, they just need substantial enough, distinct, personal interpretation. We don't have a production bias. That's fair. Our rules are the reason why we didn't post this - (very enjoyable) - but we posted this: (also very enjoyable)It's just silly that apparently 5 years ago, our rules were fine and the community's music was enjoyable, but now, everything has somehow changed drastically even though the bar and the standards are still the same. I haven't heard the submission and I'm not begging for reconsideration, I just think William's choice is a misunderstanding, and makes a lot of unjustified negative assumptions.

This fits the bill on some level: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00468/

Hahaha! Finally.

I've wanted Steam on there for a while. Google Talk makes sense as well. Will kick djp.

I certainly enjoyed the breakdown from Alex, which was helpful. For the most part, his timestamps were dead on, so he clearly knows how he put this together. Personally, I wouldn't even give this the nod at over 50% overt source usage. It's a beautiful, well-performed piece, and any errors Alex mentioned didn't even merit a comment. * :00-:07.5 (resemblance) * :13-:20 (resemblance) * :21-:28 (resemblance) * :40.75-:51 (overt) * :59-:1:06 (overt) * 1:09-1:12 (overt) * 1:13-1:15.75 (overt) * 1:19-1:25 (resemblance) * 1:29-1:35 (too liberal) * 1:39-1:44 (resemblance) * 1:47-1:58 (overt) * 2:04-2:13 (resemblance, leaning to too liberal) * 2:14-2:22 (resemblance) * 2:28-2:38 (resemblance) I didn't really need to do a breakdown to form my judgement. There wasn't any question there, but I felt I'd just put out there how strongly I felt the A-to-B connections were as far as the stated source usage. Arrangement-wise, I basically heard everything Alex was going for when he timestamped his own work. That said, the way the source material was treated was so heavily based on chord progressions and subtractive usage of the theme that I couldn't get behind it as not being too liberal. The resemblances were there with this interpretation, but I felt the the source usage wasn't overtly identifiable enough. I love the piece in a vacuum, but when it comes to using the Forest theme, you could pass much off this writing off as merely inspired by it on account of over-simplifying the theme just down to chord progressions with a smatter of overt usage. Enjoyable or not, definitely a NO from me, but still a lovely piece and I sincerely do look forward to hearing more submissions from Alex.

That's flat out wrong. Stopwatch it. (1:21-3:55 is pretty much all source usage with a couple rests as gaps.) Cool intro, building similarly to the way some of the music from the Dune: Spice Opera album did until the changeup at :42. Once things kicked in at :42, the overall soundscape had too muddy and delayed of a feel, IMO. If only the delay effects were toned down just a tad. Not a dealbreaker in the big picture, but definitely something that could stand being tweaked. For people complaining about source usage, I personally wouldn't count :42-1:13 as being direct enough usage of the source, but that piano writing's clearly based off of the chord progression of "Secret of the Forest" for 40 seconds before the melody kicks in, and some of y'all are usually all over that stuff as kosher. Whatever standards you have, you've got to apply them evenly. Also, when the source material is introduced doesn't really matter to me as long as the source usage is dominant and the arrangement of it is interpretive and developed. If hypothetically, the first 2 minutes of a 5 minute piece was all original, but the latter 3 minutes used the source, was creatively arranged, and pieced together thematically with the original material before, I'd be fine with that. Otherwise, there can be a bias toward front-loading the usage of the source. Arrangement-wise, this was a fairly straightforward adaptation of "Secret of the Forest's" structure to this style, but it wasn't something that came off as lacking enough interpretive substance. It sounded pretty personalized to me. I see where OA's coming from saying the beats here were too loud compared to the melody, but I wasn't bothered by that here. I still though the leads cut through enough to where they weren't obscured, unlike two other tracks I voted on tonight. Tweaking the balance there could be worthwhile, but I can't say anything was messed up. The notes of the mallet percussion pattern at 4:02 were a bit odd, but not so off that they were a meaningful bother. Honestly, aside from the filters making this sound on the muddy side, I wasn't seeing any huge problems with anything else, whether it was notes, transitions, production or the substance of the arrangement. While I think there were a lot of good criticisms here, they didn't seem to be blowaway issues that should hold this back at all. This is expansive, interpretive, and capably put together. I see where some people could say the arrangement's too conservative, but while keeping the structure the same, Mike really worked with this one rhythmically and instrumentally to add his own flavor and offer something substantively different. It works for me. Let's rock. YES

I never heard the first version, so I'm going into this one fresh. Pretty genteel opening. The production on the piano reminded me a little bit of Hazama's Suikoden II mix. Wasn't really feeling the drum tone or the volume of the percussion compared to the leads at 1:03 (and later 4:21). The leads ended up getting noticeably obscured. Texturally, the whole piece ends up sounding a bit strange for the first 1/3rd. Good dynamic shift at 2:23, with a great combination of piano and woodwind, followed by a nice pickup in energy. Rhodes stuff at 3:01 felt strange, but that seems to be a big aspect of this one, the weird instrumentation ideas and combos introduced throughout. It's not offensive, just a bit sonically disjointed. I've heard enough instrumentally "disjointed" pieces from Shnabubula and others where I think I know when weird instrument combinations are fully clicking and when they aren't. They aren't 100% clicking here, and some leads being obscured ended up being the biggest negative for me, but the production execution was competent enough to get by and was buoyed some by the arrangement & interpretation being creative and strong. Would love to see the balance among the parts get tweaked further to make this sounds markedly better, but on the seesaw of working vs. not working, the arrangement's clearly got a lot of great ideas and the execution is solid. YES (borderline)

Pretty fucking badass source tune! Where has this been all my life? Arrangement-wise, aside from the sparse drum tone and writing being a huge weak link, it's a pretty balls-out cover. It was feeling too cover-ish for a while, but it at least ends up doing its own thing with the soloing. The percussion composition (other issues aside) also provided substance. Fleshing out and further personalizing the drum work in a way that's markedly different than the source is always an easy way to add your own unique flavor to an arrangement, for those of you keeping score at home. Now for the bad. The drums sound like you're hitting some buckets. The background sounds REALLY empty without some good drums to anchor this, and there's (practically) no bass, making this only sound like half a song. Volume and intensity nonwithstanding, it's still both empty and incomplete. See? My fellow Brown Heat team member summed it up in just a couple of lines. You know what to do. NO (resubmit)

Yeah, right off the bat, this is sounding intense. Annnnnd, immediately I see what OA's talking about with his vote. The mixing is jacked. It's always a shame when you hear a metal track where the performances are intense, yet the production makes everything sound muted and distant. Work with whoever you can that has a better ear for mixing, take your lumps and re-balance this. The performance itself is badass and a total pass as far as the arrangement, you just need to production to also bring it for the most part. This doesn't need impeccable production quality, but it does need to be more reasonably balanced/normalized. As long as you can get it improved significantly, resubmit this and we'lll very quickly fast-track a vote on this. We DEFINITELY want this posted to the site in some form, Trey, definitely do not drop this one. NO (refine/resubmit)

The orchestration was a bit stiff with the opening woodwinds. The bowed strings at :13 in particular sounded really poor. Everything's just too mechanical sounding. I mean, you can argue VHDan and bustatunez have had some issues like this, but they've never had glaringly negative instances of that in a long, long time. Awkward transition from Wave Man to Splash Woman at :41. Didn't really have much flow to it. The Splash Woman stuff sounded a bit stronger, but that was going to happen with the bowed strings not being as prominent. Basically all of the articulations need work. The militaristic stuff ended up sounding powerful because the drumwork sounded the best out of everything and filled up much of the soundscape. That said, the Splash Woman lead brass at 2:43-3:52 was too low and getting muddied & buried by what was supposed to be supporting instrumentation. Arrangement-wise, 2:43-3:52 escalates, but nonetheless feels too repetitive. This would have passed with no doubt 7 years ago, but if this were made 7 years ago, it would be showing its age 7 years later. Great start though. Aside from the repetitive second half and a questionable transition of themes to start, the interpretation was pretty creative. The execution just needs additional polish to get the levels balanced and instruments sounding more natural and less stilted. See whose sleeve you can tug on to get more advice on what you can do for this; it'll come in handy now and for the future. I'm really liking the range you're showing as an arranger. The execution's not there for this genre yet, but you could get there, and I like potential I'm hearing so far. NO (resubmit)