OceansAndrew

Yeah, this is a solid upgrade over the original submission! Awesome to see what a few years of improvement can do. Excellent work, gentlemen! Yes

Agreeing with Justin that the intro felt pretty weak to me, and didn't build any excitement. It established the soundscape pretty well, but didn't build anticipation for a breakout main section at all. The sounds are mostly fine, though there isn't much weight to the kick; it feels really tiny to me, and isn't driving the song very well. The synths chosen are nice, but the parts are so incredibly stiff and robotic it's very hard for me to get into any sort of groove due to the completely level subdivision. Nothing feels accented or emphasized, and as such, it's exhausting trying to give the same level of attention to every note. I think the content of the mix is fine, and the length is about right. It's a personalized take on the source, but it is so robotic I can't pass it. Please adjust the velocities so that it has some breathing qualities to it. No, please resubmit

how did i miss a massive post like that? O_o What is this rock version of the rocky training montage?! I must know! 1. Innocent Primeval Breaker - Y's 7 Original Soundtrack 2. Megatona Furioso - Guilty Gear XX #Reload Original Soundtrack 3. Set it Off - Timomatic 4. Starting Point - Chaos Code Original Soundtrack 5. Test Drive - How to Train Your Dragon Original Soundtrack 6. White Devil - Ace Combat Assault Horizon Original Soundtrack 7. Green Night Parade - fu_mou 8. Devour - Shinedown 9. Savage Triumph - Flexstyle, OA, Nutritious 10. Intense Color - sephfire, SGX

I like the entire thing, but the :39 was almost comical and misplaced. I don't know if the samples need to be changed, but maybe toning the velocities down on that one section would do it. The last 2 notes also seem a bit silly, and i think something more subdued would fit better. There is a lot of good in here, but I think some minor revisions would do this well. No, please resubmit

Great arrangement, and some solid performances. The sound field wasn't 100% clicking for me, but it was overall well above the bar, and I enjoyed the solid variation between sections and strong transitions. The energy was high, the tone was pretty good, and I was rockin. Nice work! Yes

I really like the direction taken in this, and the removal of the voice samples makes it a lot less cheesy to me, and there are some generally fascinating textures and moods you have created here. I am hearing pretty much the same thing as the other judges, in that the piece is really impressive and well-constructed, but too much original material. I am really digging the style here, and the mood is really creeping me out, but i think the source is too overshadowed by the sound design. No

Lead guitar is a touch too loud, and the piano is a bit bright, but everything else is excellent. I love the booming rhythm tone, and the playing is great. The intro was beautiful, and the rock sections were great, with solid gallops. Some critiques to improve for next time are minor mixing issues, where the bass isn't quite inside the rhythm guitars at all times, and the drum fills are pretty plain and not exciting. Overall though, this is excellent and most triumphant! Yes

The Illustrious Mr. Taub is basically spot on with his critiques. Just do what he says. Always. Regardless of context. I really like the Led Zeppelin ballad sound to this, and there are a few minor shades of Opeth in there too, which is sweet. I love this song, you've done well! Yes

I agree that most of the lead instruments sounded a bit stiff and not as expressive as they could be, but the rest of the track was really clicking well, and the acoustic guitar lead was sequenced pretty strongly. I really liked the work done with the bass as well. The constant tradeoff of lead duties also helped draw attention from the individual sample weaknesses. If it had just been the strings and saw, it would have been really driven harder that they weren't as good. The arrangement was great and the combination of sources worked well together. I think the ending is weak, and could have had more of an exciting flourish to end rather than a somewhat halfassed fade, but the rest of the track is really solid and enjoyable. Yes

I think the song as a whole is really good, with some excellent writing, but there are a few things keeping it back from OCR, and the main one is the lack of dominant source use. I do think the production and mixing aspect could be improve as well, as the high end seems muffled throughout, and some elements aren't clear enough to be heard well. This has a lot of promise, and the other judges have provided you with a lot of great feedback, so get at it! No, please resubmit

To add, I think the arrangement is solid, but the sounds are really muddy, i'm hearing a touch of clipping in the rhodes, and Some of the samples could be upgraded a bit. I do think things got pretty repetitive, and I generally agree with most of what Larry is saying. Fix it up and send it back! No, please resubmit

I absolutely love the sounds chosen for this track, it feels super light and fresh to me, and the fact that the source is one of my favorite songs ever doesn't hurt. The soundscape is excellent, though there are some weird overtones in the opening parts with the synths used, and some of the mixing is a bit rhythm heavy. Overall production is above the bar, but the mixing balance could be improved. The arrangement isn't amazing for the first half, but it is personalized, and the middle section breakdown I love. Between the amount of additional counterpoint parts, rhythmic changes, structure alterations, and melded sections, it passes arrangement requirements in my mind, at least for the second half. I think the first half needs more personalization. I can sympathize, because I recently remixed this song myself, and it's literally such a good source song, I found it incredibly difficult to change anything at all. Drums aren't exciting, but are functional enough, and there are builds and drops between sections. I little bit of rhythmic changeup would be nice, but I don't think it's required. Overall it's really solid, and I think borderline, but I think the benefit of revisiting it slightly outweigh those of trying to push it through as is. I really encourage you to update this because i'd love to see it on the site, and i don't think it'd take that much to sway the other judges. No, please resubmit

I really enjoyed this, but there are a decent number of things preventing it from passing the bar. The arrangement is really pleasant, and the sounds chosen are great. I think the sequencing on a lot of elements is pretty stiff and robotic, which could really benefit from some humanization. The piano and acoustic guitar would really benefit from it. I think some extra harmonies as suggested by DragonAvenger would really help. Samplewise, I think the acoustic guitar is fine, and there piano is ok when layered with other elements, but the ending bit of the piano is too exposed for the quality of the sample. The electric guitars and drums sounded nice, but when the lead got layered with a lot of flanging effects, the phase got massive and pushed hard on the compressor and the other elements, making the rest of the song sound super quiet during that part; that needs to be EQed a bit to fit in the soundscape. Overall I really enjoyed this and feel you are on the right track, but just need to add a layer of final polish, and a bit more arrangement liberties before I can pass it. No, please resubmit

oh god, this is too good. The sounds fit well together, and the vocal delivery feels very Devo-esque to me. The arrangement is solid, all the percussive elements are excellent, and while I think it's definitely a love-or-hate song, I am definitely in the love camp. Yes

I agree with Larry that the mixing is very rough throughout, but the arrangement is cool and creative. THere is a lot of EQ work that needs to be done to clean this up, and overall the loudness is way over the top. Bring the overall levels down, ease up on the compression, and listen really closely to what each part of the song should be doing to contribute, and make sure each element has room. I like the concept here, but the execution needs to be cleaner. No

On the production end, those strings have some low mids that are bleeding really bad and making the low end sound really weak. You have the right idea panning them left a bit, but you'll want to scoop out the overlapping frequencies a touch. Arrangement-wise, this is literally a cover plus some solos, and while the solos are pretty well done, which is borderline for the submission standards. I do think you need to let your drummer have a little more fun, because as-is, the part is really basic, with no really exciting fills or changeups. I think the string pad would be more interested as a rhythmic pattern rather than a bunch of whole notes as well; the chord doesn't have to change, but add in some staccato syncopated rhythm to make it more exciting. What needs to happen arrangement-wise to make it onto OCR is you'll need to add more harmony and excitement. You have a crew of talented musicians, so I am sure you can make it work, and overall the recording sounds pretty good. No, please resubmit

I gotta agree with Snoop Lion(tamer) here, the beat just drones on and on, and besides a brief drop before the kick and clap come in to layer the existing rhythm, it doesn't do anything. I like the quirkiness of the rest of the track, but between the repetitive beat and the really washed out sound scape, the track isn't as effective as it could be. Mix up those drums a bit more, bring a few select elements forward a bit, and let's hear it again. Huge random chord at the end seemed strange as well. I like the glitchy randomness, but I want to hear it better, and get a more compelling beat. No, please resubmit

A very conservative arrangement and repetitive percussion definitely keep this out of OCR standards contention, but it is a really nicely recorded cover. The performance was solid and though there was a bit more than average amount of distance in the soundscape, it felt very smooth because of it. The only part that felt personalized to me was when there was the small section of guitar harmony. It was really nice, and stuff like that should be all throughout the arrangement to make it more personalized. I agree with the other judges about the hand percussion not being up to par, and it needs to be more varied and interesting throughout. You can really use it to emphasize some dynamics in the piece, and I encourage that to breathe more life into the song. You have a lot of the basics down, but the arrangement needs to go further. No, please resubmit

Yeah this is pretty sweet, and a very different approach than what I normally do; I will be trying your style for my next mix, since I am upgrading to Pro X.

Sounds a bit packed, but I think overall it is an improvement over the first submission, which I liked fine. Some elements that are just being used to fill out space could be trimmed out, or removed completely, like some backing strings when things get busier, or at least scooped out a bit so they are more prominent without getting smashed by the super full toned guitars. The organ Should be scooped a bit as well, as it adds a nice texture, but is getting crushed during the parts where there are heavy guitars. I suggest cutting the track in half, and scooping only the part that appears with the heavy guitars. That way you have the nice full organ tone for the quieter sections where it takes center stage, but it will cut more in the heavy parts too. I am not opposed to another cleanup pass, but I think it passes muster as-is. Yes

Pretty wicked soundscape, and the synths and percussion used would be amazing for a backing track. It's intense and bombastic, and everything used really captures the soul of Metroid for me. The issue is that the arrangement tops out early, and stalls; i think a section where things are brought way down to contrast the expansiveness would be really effective, to give it a bit of claustrophobic feel of the corridors and crevices of the game. Another idea would be to bring in the B section of the version of the song from the original NES, though tonally that may be a bit too bright and hopeful compared to the powerful and oppressive mood this has. Overall the sounds used and the production is literally perfect, but the arrangement needs more variety. There are a lot of microvariations, but it seems really samey at first glance. Doesn't prevent this from being a killer track on it's own, but makes it harder to fit OCR guidelines. I'd love to hear a resubmission. No, please resubmit

The issues I think holding this back are specifically tied to the direction it needs to go, but here are some quick thoughts: needs more and stronger dynamic contrast add some crescendos, decrescendos, and more transitional elements it needs better voicing in the low brass to sound clearer, there is a ton of mud in the legato brass sections arrangement focus, and more personalization. right now it feels like one element plays, then another, then a different section, but none of them sound like they are pointed anywhere and overall the excitement of the piece isn't there. It doesn't feel mysterious, or suspenseful, or exciting, or even sad, it sounds somewhat apathetic. Give the song a mood and really make that mood bold! No

the recruitment thread would be better I think. Good luck finding local members to rock out with!

i use a belt, im not sure if you can attach 90lb to a vest. dumbbell in a backpack is fine for lower weight stuff, you just have to make sure it is centered, so like, not on your back. It sounds funny, but use the backpack like a weight-filled pair of shorts and put it around your legs and up in your crotch, then squeeze your legs around it so it doesn't fall. I've used this method up to 60 lb without any real issues. Maybe it sounds funny because it is ridiculous, but it can work.