DragonAvenger

Not much that I can add in here, the orchestration is very unique and there's a lot of changes in the arrangement to keep things very interesting. Aside from some of the samples being slightly unrealistic I had no issues. This sort of arrangement does border on academic at times and might not be a huge fan-favorite but I loved the creativity here. Nice work and I'd love to hear more from you! YES

The original source is definitely subtle, and I like how you worked it into your mix. I felt the flow worked really well with sections not overstaying their welcome. Going to nitpick that the transition at 3:42 is a little awkward and the track loses a bit of its flow as a result. Aside from that there weren't really and major crits in my book. Nice work, hope to hear more from you soon. YES

this is a great style adaption for the track. The percussion is pumping, and the rhythm section really pushes the energy throughout. I'm going to definitely agree about the repetitive part, that was what sick out to me first. That being said, I'm also going to agree that there's a lot of subtle changes to keep this as fresh as possible within the constraints of being a repetitive track. I do think this is fine as is, though I wouldn't fault anyone for wanting some of the fat trimmed off here. YES

Really there isn't much to add that hasn't already been mentioned by the gents. There's a lot of subtle changes and build that help keep things interesting, which can be tough on a track with such a short source. I'd also have liked more low and mid end, and I would also add that some more drum variation would have been nice, but I'm cool with it as it stands. YES

We don't have lyrics, and while a lot of it is straightforward there are a couple sections that I couldn't quite understand. The bass that comes in has a pretty fun sound and sets the track up nicely. Nice groove overall. The synth that comes in after that is a bit thin and shrill, but it doesn't take away from the track much. Smooth's performance is good, though I felt like a lot of the lyrics for the chorus are repetitive and some what uninspired. This becomes really noticeable when you have the chorus followed by the bridge Gillard by the chorus. It lasts from 0:45 to 1:27, nearly 45 seconds. It feels like a lot of chorus/vamping. After that is the party I can't really make out bit definitely feels more inspired, and another hero verse to the end. I'm a bit torn here because the middle repetitive section cuts a lot odd momentum from the track. I'm curious what others think but I do think in the end this has a lot of good aspects and a solid performance. Good luck on the rest of the vote. YES(borderline)

What a pretty soundscape you've set up here. I really don't have much to add here that hasn't already been said. The track is certainly minimalist and repetitive, but the source is that and more so. I enjoyed just kinda spacing out to this chill track. Definitely not going to be for everyone but I think it ticks the correct boxes here and I don't think the repetitiveness is enough of an issue to bring it below the bar. YES

What a lovely soundscape. Love the combination of sax choir and choir choir. Really ethereal and haunting. The original melody isn't the easiest thing to remember, so I had to do a back to back comparison, and it's pretty much there. The slow melody combined with some transposing of melodies made it a touch difficult at times, but I'm good to say it's definitely there. Very little to nitpick here, though I felt at times that there would be a lot of walls of sound at times, and the soundscape can get pretty full when it happens. I didn't feel like anything was being drowned out necessarily, but there are some busy sections. Nice work! YES

Interesting concept here. I like the idea of bringing this into a rock feel, though I don't know if it currently achieves it's goal. MW has some solid crits that I think you should really take into account. I felt that the production and the arrangement both ended up being equal in regards to things that need to be worked on for our standards. The production starts out with the keyboard dissonance (which is fine) which overpowers the guitar/bass that comes in 3 seconds later. Later in the rock section I feel like the mids are pretty strong, and the high end is lacking. Being a little nitpicky here, I felt like the bass and flute are played a bit mechanically, especially when you compare the bass solo to the guitar solo. That being said, I suffer the same issue when I play instruments, where I focus very strongly on playing the rhythms correctly and less on adding soul into it, so I feel ya there. See if you can work on that, especially for the more exposed sections. The arrangement really sticks close to the source both in structure and arrangement as a whole. I think some kind of variation there would make a strong difference, especially if you expanded out the arrangement to be a little longer. Some changes in the melodies and harmonies would also help out here and there. There's work to be done in this, but you've got a good start. Definitely hit up the WIP boards to get some more feedback and keep at it! NO (resubmit)

Pretty slick, pretty smooth. The lyrics are well delivered and are on point for references to the game/series. I'm going to be nitpicky because I can, the vocals sound a little overpowering on headphones and sometimes the backing is lost as a result. Nothing egregious, just me being picky. I hope you get the heart this time <3 YES

I'm pretty much in direct agreement with Gario here. The biggest issue to me is the mechanical nature of the attacks and lack of humanization as a whole, but I also do think the low end could use some TLC to fill out the soundscape a bit more. It's definitely tougher to work with less than ideal samples, but you can get them to sound pretty solid with work. You're on the right track here. NO (resubmit)

I was excited to hear this after reading the description and setting the artist, and this doesn't disappoint. Nice and bouncy, with a bit of an old school mix sound. Creative use of loops, and aside from the percussion issue mentioned I found this super enjoyable. YES

I'm not hearing any clipping, though the guitar has a lot of distortion. It does get to be a bit much at times, though I'm not too thrown off by it. The arrangement is straightforward as the others mentioned, with some stronger interpretation at the end. I would have liked things to get to the really cool part sooner in the mix, but I think the first half has its place. Aside from the violin being really stiff, the performances are on point. Definitely not a source that I would have expected much from, but you worked some good magic here. YES

I'm pretty much with Greg on this one. Really bouncy atmosphere, budding with energy, and lots of little variations give this track a lot of charm. My nitpick is the same that parts tend to get repetitive, and the bass is the biggest issue in my book. A changeup there would make a world of difference. That being said,I think the arrangement clears the bar as is, though I'm a bit borderline. If this comes back to you I hope you can change our some of that baseline and keep this fresh, otherwise good luck with the rest of the vote! YES (borderline)

Super happy and a ton of energy! I didn't hear the original, but I'm really enjoying the changes to the melodies, and the overall groove is great. I'm not hearing any distortion/clipping that MW mentioned, or if I am it's timed well that it doesn't affect my listening. Thanks for bringing this back to us, definitely a great track! YES

Fun stuff, as always. The energy is great, and while the mix is fairly conservative in regards to arrangement, the soundscape is fresh. Samples are smartly used, and I appreciate that you work really hard to finesse them as best you can. It's an art to pull out the humanization you do out of them! Nitpicking that the kick hitting (almost) every beat does get a little old by the end, but not a dealbreaker in the long run. A break a little more often would have been great. I'm ready to party with a mixed drink and watch the parade with this song YES

Really not much to add on here that hasn't been said. I also want super feeling the distorted guitar sound, but I can see what you were going for and understand the stylistic choice. Really like the chill feeling overall and the cameos are cute. Overall I'm sold on this. YES

Looks like all the original judges get to get their second opinion. I remember parts of the original, and listening to the new version I can definitely tell there was a good amount of work put in to add more variation. I do think that some sections still feel a touch samey, but it is a huge improvement and I wouldn't call it an issue any more. I'm going to agree with Gario this time on the grittiness being more of a stylistic choice here, through I suspect you ruined it down from the last version. Thanks for the second pass! YES

First thing I'm noting on headphones is that the violin lead is panned pretty heavily left. Generally you want to keep the leads in the center do they are able to come through stronger. Similarly as Mind Wanderer mentioned there are some pretty big issues with the balance. Overall the track sounds a lot quieter than it should be and there is some muffled feel overall that I'd love to hear fixed. I'm going to suggest hitting up our WIP boards and getting another pass on balancing the track. Really loving the arrangement ideas here. There's a ton of determination here conveyed through your instrument choices. I'd really like to hear this on the front page do I really hope you clean this up. NO (resubmit)

There's really not much I can add here to what Kris has already mentioned. Really enjoying the story laid out here, and the unique sound scape really add some awesome touches. My one critique world be around the 2:35 section where the English horn feels like it's noodling a bit out of time. It's short but noticeable. I will also agree that the transitions are nothing amazing but I didn't think any were in need of fixing. Really creative and emotive! YES

I'm not sure if there's a connection that I'm missing, but I wasn't hearing any source until 1:21. Not a huge deal breaker on its own but combined with some of the other issues the other judges mentioned I think it add up here. I felt like some of the vocal leads and the flute felt somewhat blocky, especially in such an emotive setting. For me this is coming just below the bar, though it's really close. I'm curious what the others think here and I might be swayed into a yes after I see their thoughts. NO (resubmit)

That opening was not what I expected when I opened the track compared to the source, but I like the almost lilting march you established here. Great use of triplets and duplets. Pretty unique soundscape overall and it really makes me think of the remix you did from FF4. 1:15 is a bit of an odd turn and feels very directionless. I'm not sure if it's really adding much to the track, though it is definitely a change from the original soundscape. I'm going to agree with Mind Wanderer that the second feels pretty close and repetitive to what was established before and I think some more variation might be necessary to bring this up to speed. Super glad to see you submitting again! NO(resubmit)

As usual I love the gritty approach that you bring to these songs. It not only fits your voice but the transition for the songs is very natural. This mix, however, isn't holding up quite as well for me through a bunch of small issues that are adding up. The biggest of those issues is the voice treatment. You're lead sounds really up close and dry compared to the rest of what's going on and it sounds like a completely unnatural soundscape as a result. I'd love to hear the lead blended in better with the rest. The vocals also have done small pitch issues which are more noticeable based on how up front the lead is. The voice leading is awkward in some areas, and is probably one of the hardest parts of fitting vocals into pre-existing melodies. The "I feel" bridge is the biggest offender since there tends to be an awkward pause in the middle of the sentence. "I feel my...grip tightening" is the one that sticks out the most. The next verse (bridge?) has some similar issues. I'm betting critical on the vocals specifically because the backing sounds pretty great, good balance, compelling performances, varied drum writing. I'm also a fan of your backing vocal writing, as usual I think the first issue of the vocal treatment is the real deal breaker here, but I think pitch correction and some adjustment to the writing to flow better with the melody world be a strong asset to the overall track. Curious what the others will say here. NO (resubmit)

I was not expecting such an energetic and unique take here, and I actually had to take a moment to adjust. Nice work on pulling off such a radically different (and fun!) take on this source. I do think the second half suffers from being over-cluttered, but I was able to hear the main parts clearly enough and it doesn't bring it even close to a NO. Hopefully someone can confirm our correct, but I think this source was the one that Kikuta said was his favorite when he was asked (by me!) at the Otakon Q&A years ago. Fun times and this mix is lovely. YES

Some interesting changes to the chords, I want sure what to think of them at first but I think they are a neat change from the original and change the mood pretty drastically. The arrangement is pretty straightforward but there's plenty of detail to add flavor along with some fun orchestration overall. I found the mixing to be pretty clear on headphones, if a little quiet. My biggest nitpick is the realism. The sounds are fine, though definitely not live, and use think a touch more work on the humanization would bring this to life. That being said I think it's certainly above the bar as is. Really fun take in the source with some great mood shifts. Hope that writer's block clears out for you, we've all been there. YES

What a great opening! Great synth choices and the energy is high. Similarly the combo of the sources feels very natural. I do think occasionally the lead synth feels a touch weak compared to the background, but it's a very small nit to pick. Solid panning in sections to emphasize backing parts. Want feeling the 3:02 - 3:18 section, but I think it's only a few chords there that aren't doing it for me. There's a sacrifice to make it fit better or to remain recognizable, and for the most part it works. Overall this is a fun track that fits your style well. Transitions were fine, too YES