So I was working in the inbox this morning and saw an unhappy resubmission from Lashmush (resubmission comments added into the OP). I hadn't voted on this one, so I wanted to check it out. We never mind checking things again if the artist has complaints on the feedback. I don't agree on tracks being passed by the "inner circle" being the "usual fare", but I appreciate you being candid!
I linked the version the panel originally voted on as well as a remastered version that was sent as a resub. I didn't really hear any significant difference between the remastered version and the first one, so I'm just voting off of the original version. BTW, I'm voting on my trusty Sennheiser HD 497s. (Thanks, GrayLightning!)
This was a very aggressive yet expansive arrangement that I dug. Great source tune choice and this is beefed up nicely.
I definitely understand where the others are coming from on how this was mixed, e.g. :31-1:08, and then 1:28-1:47 with the machine gun drums. Genre staple of production or not, I'd argue the bass creates some mud and obscures the other instrumentation, and that's what other judges hinged on. We certainly don't require crystalline clarity, but I could see dinging it for that reason. That said, that area (:31-1:08) actually didn't bother me, and I felt like it added a kind of rumbling, unsettling undertone with a kind of a surrounding effect that added texture.
I didn't agree that the mixing was a dealbreaker and I could make out the instrumentation enough; less so from 1:28-1:47, but IMO things were fine from :31-1:08 and I could make out the critical partwriting just fine. 3:26-3:45 had the bass crowding as well (but, again, it was fine for me), then 3:45-4:03 was another run of machine gun drums towards the finish. I thought the machine gun drums were too heavy, but at the same time, nothing was distorted, so I can get over it.
The mixing was super strong for the entire rest of the track, and I'm not feeling like that problem sections pointed out by the others were a significant enough issue, subjective or otherwise, to hold this back.
From the sound of it, Rasmus would like the NO votes to offer some further feedback; to some extent, I feel he's right about this not being given a fair shake, inasmuch as there happened to be another judge (me) who didn't feel this was a NO who just hadn't voted. So I'll move this back into the judging queue and add my YES, which splits the vote and re-opens discussion. It's not a table flip, but at the very least, I thought this mixing wasn't ideal, but also doesn't hold it back. Let's get some more votes and see if anyone has further thoughts.
YES