OceansAndrew

I'm definitely not hearing the issues that was noticed over 7 years ago. This has a lot of dubstep traits, but it's in a more subdued style that feels pretty nice. The track does feel slightly repetitive from a soundscape angle near the end, but it doesn't kill the pretty solid groove and attention to details, and overall, I am feeling this, dawg. I do think a little additional sonic variety in the form of a switched up lead would be an improvement, but this is solid enough to pass. Yes

Nice arrangement, very creative and the source breakdown makes following the progression easier for someone like me who has never played the game. I loved the variety and general soundscape, though I felt some of the reverbs were sounding strange and kindof pumped a bit with the compression. THe strengths though really overpowered the one issue. The percussion was sick, the panning was creative and well-planned. Overall I really enjoyed this, the level of improvement over your first sub is huge. Keep improving, but this is good stuff. Yes

Can't believe i haven't commented on this one yet. Shariq has a ton of great mixes, but this one is probably my favorite of his of late. It just flows so well, and has some great counter melody writing. Well done, sir.

A little rough around the edges production-wise; I think your dubstep bass needs to have a little more super low end, and it seems really dry and upfront, when it should sit in the mix just a bit more. The sax sample sounds way dry as well, and could use some reverb or delay to sweeten it up. Otherwise, I was feeling this. The arrangement melds the themes pretty well, and I like how it expanded in the second half. I do think the production issues are problematic enough to be addressed before passing this, though. I look forward to hearing a revised submission. No, please resubmit

This felt better overall, but still had some chords in the guitar from :38-1:00 that didn't fit with the melodies well. The section at 1:00 was better, but throughout, the violin is way too exposed; and sounds pasted on top. In a lot of sections it was also difficult to hear the source, as things are very different from the original, and in my opinion, too far. There is a definite improvement from the original sub here, but it needs more revisions; sorry. No

happy birthday Dan, thank you for unknowingly introducing me to the site through your mega man mixes!

Arrangement-wise, things were decent, but there are a few things seemingly missing. One, for good chunks of the song, the bass was seemingly missing, and the few areas it was audible, you had to strain to hear it. Combined to the flimsy sound drums, and the low end seemed really lacking. SOme of the synths used didn't really gel with the soundscape, which also felt thin in spots. I am beating up the production pretty bad here, but on the other hand, I think the arrangement is good, and really deserves a polished sound. I recommend hitting up the WIP forums, where there are some helpful people who can give you some additional advice to polish this up a bit. No, please resubmit

The intro is really weird, lol. I think it's an interesting experiment, but as a song i'm not really feeling it; It doesn't really focus on the source for the majority of the mix, and as such feels a little too off the rails. You definitely have a creative way of approaching the music, so I'd love to hear additional tracks you might have, but I gotta NO this one. NO

The slowed down version works pretty good, but I couldn't help myself wishing for a rhythmic changeup of the blocky source chords.The dynamics are great, and the counter melodies are nice, but it feels pretty vanilla, somehow. It may just be that i've heard the track a million times. Some of the canned vocal lines dip a little out of the song's key, as well, which makes it a little awkward in spots, but they resolve fine, making it a minor annoyance rather than a song-killer. When all is said and done, the samples are pretty good, there is a good personalization of the source, and while it's not quite doing it for me on a personal level, I think it clears the bar based on both the arrangement and production criteria. Yes

I definitely remember this one the first time around, and I am really happy you are resubbing it. Right from the beginning, the snare feels a lot better, and more natural, and the balance overall is much better; The arrangement works well, and the incorporation of the 2 sources is pretty solid. Some of the guitar playing and drumming is a touch on the loose side for a few sections, but overall I was feeling this. The subtle use of synths added a nice contrast and helped the sections feel unique. The drum writing overall was nice and varied, and I feel that though it could be tightened up a bit overall, the strengths easily outnumber the nitpicks. Nice resub. Yes

The soundscape seems slightly brittle in some spots, with the synths seeming a little bit low fi-fi; Some sections feel better than others, like when they are more filled out. I feel that the track is missing a ton of energy in a lot of sections where the percussion isn't playing, which seems like every other section. Even some hihat to keep the track moving would help. The arrangement feels like it runs long to me, but that just may be because it feels really plodding. I think adjusting the drums to be more energetic and frequent, and getting a few higher-fidelity synths would help this get closer. No, please resubmit

There is a lot of cool synth stuff going on, but those drums are absolutely not getting the job done. At first I thought it was one of those cheeky "let's do the intro with crappy drums, and then hit them hard with the good drums", but when the it was the same looped beat throughout with really flimsy sounding drums, I sadly discovered the truth. Some of the more exposed synths didn't really work either, when the soundscape empties out. They are a bit dry, and would work well in a more crowded soundscape, but when it's just them and a small counter melody, it's not gonna work. The good news that the arrangement is pretty good, if a bit liberal in places, but between some synths being a bit too dry, and the super thin drums, this needs a bit more work. I encourage you to hit up the WIP forums and get some advice on drums, and then resub it! No, please resubmit

I like the super deep sounding synth, and the shuffle beat is nice, but otherwise it is really just sounding like a sound upgrade to me, and it doesn't bring much arrangement-wise to the piece. The balance issues are minor, and you have a good soundscape set up, so take the opportunity to make it a really creative arrangement too! No

Symphonic rock with a more orchestra mixing style is definitely something I can support, and though some of the samples are a little weak (mainly the strings, which sound a little 2 dimensional), there is a decent amount of variation while remaining very true to the source. I was actually getting concerned that it was just going to be a cover, but then the inspired breakdown hit. I think the ending came a little soon, and one more run through the main section would have been a stronger ending, but as-is, the guitar playing is solid, the rhythmic variations are classy, and the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. Plenty to improve on for the next submission, but I am feeling this one. Yes

Stevo and David for the 2011 Imison award! The track is improved overall, with the timing sounding much more solid. The compression could be a little less, but the changes made are enough that I'm fine passing this one. The arrangement definitely is strong, and the vocal performances are really fun. Yes

The synth was brought down slightly, and the rest of the track is a little better balanced, but I think the panned synth still needs to come down, and the drums are also feeling pretty weak. The fact that the panned synth is completely relentless is also wearing on me, due to it's incredible prominence. The ending is also abrupt and feels really shoddy and tacked on. You definitely have a good start, and the arrangement ideas are strong, but this needs a lot more polish and balance. No, please resubmit

Pretty interesting to hear an ambientish track rocked out. The arrangement is definitely cool, though there are a lot of little nitpicks that are adding up in my mind. My main concerns for this are in the bass; at the beginning, the bass is sequenced really stiffly, and the track suffers because of it. Also, once the guitars come in, the bass frequency is really low, and subby, making it feel that the foundation is shaky, and not solid. The guitar leads could definitely use some vibrato in spots, and there is some minor intonation issues throughout. I think the arrangement is very solid and cool, but some of the production needs to be tightened up overall. It's close, in my mind, though. No, please resubmit

Overall I feel the arrangement is very strong, but Jesse brings up some good points - The drum sound is pretty cool and very catchy, but the beat needs more variation, maybe with some fills and cymbal crashes here and there. A little more volume on the bass would be an improvement too, and maybe a touch of stero delay on the lead. Overall really close, it just needs some minor tweaks, and a more varied beat. No, please resubmit

The intro wasn't super well integrated with the track, but it was ok; Once the song started it was pretty good; nice rhythm gallops, but not a lot of expansion. Beyond some extra riffing, it's basically guitar chords and some organ. The vocal clips helped make it a little more interesting, but the arrangement tended to feel like it was missing a melody, and was otherwise treading water. There was rhythmic variations in the guitars, but I am feeling like there is a crucial element missing from the track; the organ was mixed pretty low, and there was a little bit of synth later on in the track, but not very much. Overall this sounds to me like a very strong WIP, but a WIP nonetheless. Polish it up a bit and send it back! No, please resubmit

This is really cool stuff, but I agree with Jesse that the balance is off, where the melody is buried. The breakdown sections are a little better, but you'll need to bring down the bass synth and give the melody some room. Definitely would like to see this on the main page, so please tweak the levels and resub. No, please resubmit

I think this is working overall, but Jesse had some good points about the blockiness of the structure; and I do think that the arrangement could be truncated a little bit, with the layers being built a bit faster. The drums sound great, and there are a lot of good details that make it nice, but some areas seem a little empty in the harmonic aspect. What I mean by that is that some sections just have a bass line and melody, and no countermelody or harmony in the chords. I realize that things build eventually to the point where there is harmony, but having something throughout makes it a lot more interesting. I'd say this is at about 90% right now, and just needs a few arrangement additions and trimming to get there. Definitely has potential to make it. No, please resubmit

Took a lot of listens to get a handle on this one; There are some good moments, but there are also a lot of moments that seem really sparse and thin. I'm not sure that the source use is over 50% either, because it's spread out so much. Also, it's 10 minutes. I do think it could be edited pretty fiercely to fit more in OCR's style. No

Nice feeling, a great arrangement idea, and pretty good sequencing, though not all of the samples are really pulling their weight. I do think that the double reed instrument should be sequenced a little stronger, as it feels a little bit lifeless in spots. The layered percussion added some excellent texture and energy. Production-wise, things are a bit muddy, and I think it'd be stronger if things were a little crisper, but i feel the arrangement pulls this one through. Yes

This is a good start overall, but once it gets going, it hits critical mass right away and never goes any further, seemingly content to repeat. It is also pretty conservative, and doesn't do a lot besides upgrading the sounds and adding a more energetic beat. I think the base is here, but the arrangement needs more juice to get over the bar. I recommend hitting up the WIP threads and seeing what kind of thoughts people would have to pump up the arrangement. No, please resubmit