DragonAvenger

This is very nice! Love the energy you added to it, the track has a lot of anxiety to it that really drives the mood. Andrew really describes this well when he mentions that there's a lot that is similar to the original, but you really worked to make it your own. Great work! YES

There is some great stuff that's being done here to the track, which I agree is pretty great and one of Uematsu's great (though lesser known) tracks. Andrew has it right though that overall the track is just too much of a cover to the original to me to fit our standards. I'd love to hear some more work done to the arrangement to really give this a bit more of your own personalization. Really on the right track, just needs some more! NO (resubmit, please)

Yeah, I think Kris has this right in the end, I feel like this just doesn't strike home enough in terms of the source being recognizable. I think some adjustments could be made to fix this without too much difficulty, and I hope you do so! Other than that, the production is crisp and clear, I enjoyed listening! NO (resubmit)

Yeah, this is very pretty, but overall it's too close to the source. I'd love to hear a bit of expansion of the arrangement and some more personalization. Even stretching out the arrangement would help. NO

Seriously, the personalized performances make this shine. Love what you've all done here, despite it being very close to the source in terms of arrangement, it feels really fresh. Would love to hear more from you all YES

Andrew has some great advice here overall. I agree that the arrangement is a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed where you took the track. The production overall isn't quite there; I found a lot of spots where things are fighting for control and I wasn't sure what to focus on. I think bringing your leads out just a hair more might help this out, but I'd first take OA's advice to heart. Hope to hear this again! NO (resubmit, please)

Definitely love the intensity growth throughout the track. I always found the original to be a little bland, but you have a ton of stuff going on to keep the interest level moving without overpowering the source theme. Agreed with Andrew that the production is clear as well, nothing feels drowned out or muddled. Really fun listen overall! YES

Andrew pretty much said anything I was going to. The first thing I noticed is the balance is all over the place, with parts sticking way out to the point of being distracting. I think adjusting things to be a little more midline will help focus the listener's attention better. There's some good personalization here, but overall the track feels like it's just running through the source until the solo section right near the end followed by the track ending somewhat abruptly. I think a few structure changes, or moving the solo towards the middle to middle-end of the track could help that out. Really an interesting take, and I think there's promise here, but it needs some work. Hit up our WIP forums to get a little more advice and feedback and I'd like to hear this again. NO (resubmit)

Andrew makes a lot of good points here. The mix as a whole is a lot more subdued than I would have expected and it provides a fresh take on things. I'll completely agree that the sidechaining starts to wear thin after a while, and really could be removed at times to allow the ears to reset a bit.the track also feels a bit repetitive after a while since a lot of the same ideas are used, and a section that feels more strongly different would freshen things up. Also not feeling the repeat/takeout ending. Reallythis is pretty close in terms of style and approach, but I feel like some sections need some overhauling to add more variance and bring something different to the table. The sidechaining feels like the biggest issue and what I would look at first. I'd love to hear this again! No (resubmit)

Yay! I'm glad they arrived safe! My fault for sending them out late plus the international shipping time. There were going to be 4 coasters, but the last one messed up, which was part of the wait.

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Andrew's right, you have a solid start here, but the track overall is pretty conservative towards the source. Once the second half hits I'm starting to hear some little changes and personalizations. That is the kind of things that you could do a ton more of, and I'd love to hear it. Feel free to branch out a little more! NO (resubmit)

For realz, this is a YES

I got another present from my (still unknown) secret santa! It's a really cool Metroid print that I will be excited to put up in my craft room. Waiting on posting pics in case there is something else coming, or if the SS has a plan for revealing their identity!

Yeah, pretty much going to agree with OA here. There's a lot of great writing here, but overall it sounds a bit too overall original to me. I think this would benefit greatly from another source and some more material to work with. I did not listen to the other tracks of the soundtrack, but maybe there's something you can work with? Gonna also echo that the drums are really great and do an awesome job of emphasizing what is going on! I'd love to hear more from you, you've got a good style here and I think you're pretty close with this one as-is. Even if you don't get around to reworking this one, I hope you submit again! NO (resubmit)

Yeah, pretty much going to agree with the guys above. Love the concept here, and I think you're pretty close on this. A little smoothing on the mixing, especially towards the end, is what's needed here. Fix this one up! NO (resubmit, please)

Definitely going to agree with the lady and gentleman above, love the Enya feel here, and the production overall makes for a very intimate feel. I also agree with Jive that a little more variation would have been nice, but I wouldn't say that it really gets into a repetitive category by any means. Nice work! YES

I received a gift of some USB hand warming gloves from my Santa, with a promise of another present on it's way! The gloves are already warming up now!

Yep, what these guys said. The metal is real, and this track really personalizes the source with excellent performances. YES

The instrumentation you used is definitely way more interesting than the original, which I found to be overall somewhat lifeless. That being said, I felt like this track overall was very close to the original source, and the repeat did not change much the second time through, making this feel pretty repetitive. On top of that, the instrumentation is very mechanical and fairly fakey sounding. There's a lot of work to be put into this to get it to the arrangement and production standards we are looking for. I'd suggest listening to some recently posted mixes to hear the arrangement ideas those mixers have used to personalize their mixes to get an idea of what we are looking for. I think you have a base point here, but there's a lot to be done. NO

I think Larry's comment; "This should be more epic than the end result, but the indistinct, cluttered mixing prevents this from reaching top-tier execution." is exactly correct. If this were mixed and balanced a lot more this could be a great mix, but so much is lost in the sloppiness of it. That being said, the leads do manage to stay pretty clear and up front, and the arrangement is pretty fun overall. Kudos on that Magus transition as well. YES (borderline)

Kris pretty much has said what I would say to this mix. Wayyyy unexpected and pleasant surprise in the style change here! Really cool to see people find something outside of most approaches to a track and really make it work. That being said, the tempo and the overall lack of a lot of instruments to work with kind of hurts this in the longer run as there's only so much you can do to keep the listener's attention; I found myself wandering a bit towards the end. Keep up the creativity! YES (borderline)

I do like the chord changes you put into the track a few times. They do a good job of changing the feel of the track which has been mixed a lot. It's obvious you spent a lot of time trying to keep the track varied throughout, and it definitely pays off here. I found the sections to all to fit the style you were going for, but be unique in their approach. I will have to say that I wasn't feeling the opening section as much, as the note shifts on the bells from the source make the track sound almost out of tune at times. I have a couple of production issues I'd like to bring up. I think the bass overall feels like it's a bit thin and doesn't push as much as they could. Similarly, the piano at 1:52 could come in a little stronger, as the stop and quieter section is a bit lost. Also sometimes the balance feels a bit strange at times, like 1:20 the bells are competing against the background synths to be heard clearly. I'm curious what the others think on this one, as I'm a bit on the fence. I am leaning towards a yes, and that most of the issues are not big enough to bear revising, but I certainly wouldn't mind another pass at it. YES

Sweet, thanks for the update! YES

*As a note, we'd need a non-wav version of this* I kinda like the soundscape you have going on here, as you said, going for a real vintage feel. I feel like the articulations are pretty mechanical all around, and really need some work on the humanization level. The bass drum doesn't have a lot of presence to it, and really could use a bit of a boost. The big issue going on here is that this is a direct cover of the original source, and replays a couple times before a fade-out. There definitely needs to be some real personalization and arrangement aside from the style change. Take a listen to some of our most recently posted mixes and compare them to their originals to get an idea of what we are looking for here. NO (override?)