Vidilian

The sound choices for a few of the parts are off-putting to me, especially the leads. I think it's because of resonance. Maybe consider experimenting with what sounds your using first of all. There could be better options.

Update. The reverb i used before gave the snare and hi hats overly prominent tails when i tried to increase it to the same level as the orchestra's (thats why i felt the need to keep them relatively dry in comparison) and didn't give the sense of space I was trying to emulate for the orchestra unless I increased it to too high a level. I've now found a reverb that doesn't have those issues and works equally well for both the drums and the orchestra, which has allowed me bring the reverb level on the drums and orchestra to the same level, making them more cohesive. Also tweaked other things. Will extend later.

Update. Thanks for feedback. Great catch on that glissando thing. I ended up incorporating it with the E note but not the A and D because in the context of the remix it sounded a bit weird having them all do it (maybe because a synth is playing it instead of the eastern plucked string instrument in the original). Will experiment with that though. Other than that, improved the mix overall, extended the song, varied up the tempo and added aspects of the alternate version of the song that plays at the end of the dungeon (added link to OP)

Thanks for all the varied feedback. Will get back to this later down the line. I knew the sparse nature of this could hurt it, but still wanted to give it a shot in the current form. Cheers.

From what I can tell, the original doesn't just use notes from a normal diatonic scale, but I can find it hard figuring out some songs so I could be wrong. Will extend it later. Remix: https://sites.google.com/site/vspaine/wips/Unholy Thunder M.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1 Originals:

This is great for someone who has never made a song before imo. You've got a better grasp of it that most probably do when starting so the best thing is to just keep on learning since you self-teaching skill seems pretty high. Though, I will say that the balance of levels seems to be thing most in need of tweaking. The lead guitar in particular is too low. Keep it up.

Hope you find yourself a sax player because, as you said, it would elevate the track since the sax parts are so complex and prominent that the vst might not be able to do them justice. Would probably be fine if it wasn't so important to this track. Really like it so far though

Thanks for the comments guys. Glad you like like it. This track pretty simple so can't think of what to tweak so switching it to review .

A subdued, sombre take on it. It's not attention grabbing, but it's not meant to be, so hopefully that's not a negative. Feedback appreciated: https://sites.google.com/site/vspaine/wips/Invest M.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1 Original:

Enjoy the chill vibe to this. I don't know if the delay you're using on the guitar at 1:20 has filter settings, but you could maybe think about rolling off some low end from the delay feedback. That would make the mix clearer at the points when the guitar plays as right now the delay might be filling the mix a bit too much. Maybe just reducing the volume of the delay could work too.

You're not working on this much more so I'll just point out the main thing that stood out to me. The synth that plays melody at 0:45 could cut through the mix more, especially when you compare it to the next synth that continues the melody at 1:00 which is much clearer and fits into the mix better.

1. None that bother me personally. 2. This is just personal preference, but made me leave the vocal out of the intro part to a make it seem more like an intro that's building to something. Would make the vocals that come later be more impactful maybe. 3. You could experiment with a more "epic" sounding organ that matches more with the tone of the song. A big, sinister cathedral organ type. Not on expert on organs so can't be more specific. 4/5. For this I'll just refer to the mix as a whole. You need to EQ the backing instruments so they interfere less with the lead guitar and vocals. Just cut a bit at the frequencies where the lead and vocals sit. During times when both the vocals and lead play at the same time (2:36), you probably need to use to to automated EQ to temporarily have the lead guitar duck out of the way of the vocals. That way the vocals can still be clear with out having them stick out.

Your emphasis on looping repetition and abrupt endings is the main issue with the arrangement of this song. Variation is pretty much a requirement even though the song you're arranging is repetitive as well. Try to mix it up and do your own thing with it after covering the original melody. You can then return to it like a chorus. Would be good if there was more of an intro as well. The mix is muddy and has too much low end. The drone is the main issue I think, so you need to lower its volume and probably adjust with EQ. Other issues with the mix will be easier to hear once you balance that part.

Switched to review. I’ve used mod review a lot so would love to not have to again, but I haven’t gotten any luck getting feedback in other ways. In place of feedback, I've spent months comparing the mix to rock remixes to try and make sure this is right.

Update. Changed the reverb and increased the amount of it on the lead and drums while removing it from rhythm guitar and synths. Adjusted eq and level of rhythm guitar and drums so they're more forward in the mix. Also other things that were mentioned. https://sites.google.com/site/vspaine/wips/Kingdom Plantae M.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1

Yeah, electric guitars are tricky. With your ones, it seem like you've eq'd them in a way that makes them sound too muffled. One thing I noticed with trying to figure them out is that I needed to let them breath way more than I thought so that they retain their power. You may need to experiment with other amp sims as well perhaps. Also, you should use samples for your drums that are a bit fuller. I like the rhythm that kicks in a little after the 1 minute mark but the samples let it down.

Cheers Gario. I automate MIDI expression for the sustain string swells so just need to rethink how I'm doing that. For the other instruments, I can pick articulations with faster attack. The electric piano (that you're mistaking for a guitar) is supposed to be a lead intrument since it's playing the main melodies any time it's around so not sure what makes it seem like a supporting instrument. I'll try and figure out what you mean though.

Update. Worked on every said so won't go into the specifics. Switching to review.

Thanks a lot for the review. Will no doubt return to this. Not any time soon though, probably.

Adjustments to EQ, reverb, faders and a slight tempo increase. Switched to review

I'm a little late to reply. Thanks for feedback. Good to hear it's improved. I'm sure I can figure this one out at some point since its seems like it's getting closer to be being OK and would be waste not to try and fix it. For now, taking it off eval.

Realised that I posted a slightly older version. Updated the link.

Update. Some adjustments to EQ and fader levels. Also, made the drums end less suddenly before outro. Switched to eval.

Update. With all the previous versions of this I've been trying to get rid of the high frequency hiss of the guitars by using a low pass eq and then keep the guitar from sounding too muffled after I do that by using a high pass as well. With this update I decided to give up on trying to clean up this hiss as my attempts have been taking too much away from the guitars. They are fuller and more powerful now so it's more clear that the rhythm guitars are playing power chords. This makes up for that the fact I can't figure out how to clean up the hiss. Everything else that was mentioned has also been worked on, most notable being the removal of all key changes and adjustment of overall sound design. Same link

Cheers Roz. Will update at some point since I already know whats causing the issue/resonance in the sound design after looking over the project - some elements are overly high-passed the reverb and certain intruments) . Taking this off eval.