Emunator   Judges ⚖️

Right off the bat, we’re met with some really lush complementary guitar, synth, and saxophone tones that all play well together. There’s a lot of breathing room in the mix despite the number of instruments and sounds present in the mix - nothing ever feels like it’s competing for space. JayC did a wicked good job on the mix, as did all of the instrumental collaborators. I can absolutely hear the King Gizz influence here in terms of both tonality and the complex arrangement that takes a scenic route filled with numerous detours that come out of nowhere, but never feel unwelcome. Rad stuff guys! YES

Count me as one of the judges who’s generally on board with H36T’s style of arrangement, so it’s no surprise that I found myself really enjoying this on multiple fronts. The original writing fits seamlessly into the vibe of the original, even if it is segmented rather discretely into “original” and “cover” sections. 2:07 is a particular moment that really caught my eye, when the low strings harmonize with the cello line. The new drum groove toward the second half of the track leads to some really interesting rhythms. There’s enough moments where your original additions and sound design elevate this beyond just being a cover in my book. Couple of nitpicks - I loved the tone of the cello and the expressiveness on the sample, but when it was super exposed starting at :31, the legato transitions felt a little choppy. Not as big of a deal once the supporting instrumentation came in to pad things out. I understand why you settled on a fade-out ending, but this one felt particularly weak. Even dropping the drums out and letting the instrumentation fade naturally on a slower curve would have been fine, but this just happens too abruptly. Overall, I’m sold here despite a few non-mission-critical reservations. Keep ‘em coming! YES

Remixer(s): Emunator feat. Gamer of the Winds, Sirenstar Name: Black Ice Mire Game: Metroid Prime 2 (primary), Super Metroid (cameo) Sources: Torvus Bog, Prologue (Super Metroid) Credits: Emunator: arrangement, sequencing, production, mastering Gamer of the Winds: alto flute Sirenstar: Additional vocals (intro and outro) Additional Contributions: Chimpazilla: Additional mixing, mastering Zack Parrish: Vocal processing Comments: I'm finally closing the loop on another arrangement that's been stagnating for WAY longer than it ever should have. I started remixing this in 2015 and, over the course of the next 8 years, put about 65 hours toward finishing it and ultimately not getting very far from where I started. I was locked in loop mode for years and unsure of how to actually transform it into a complete musical statement. In 2023, I finally broke through that creative wall and started making rapid progress. The concept is pretty simple - what if Torvus Bog was done in the style of Phendrana Drifts? I've always found the Metroid Prime series to be one of the most technically impressive, atmospheric game soundtracks, and way ahead of its time in terms of sound design, so I challenged myself to capture the magic of those textures and sounds with my own tools. The bulk of the sound design was built in Omnisphere. I also chopped up some drumloops from the original sample pack called Uncivilised Grooves that Kenji Yamamoto used heavily in the original score to really give it that authentic Metroid Prime industrial organic vibe. Lastly, I employed a copious amount of Shaperbox 3, a new plugin I recently purchased which helped add a rhythmic pulse to everything from the bassline to the iconic Prime sine lead. I'm not saying that you can always just throw money at shiny new plugins to get over creative block, but in this case... that's pretty much what happened. What started as a sound design experiment really started to come together in 2023 with some help from Theophany, who helped me workshop the track and gave me some pointers on how to make my bass way less boring (check out his own Torvus Bog remix that he released earlier this year that I tried really hard not to consciously rip off as I was finishing this!) Gamer of the Winds and Sirenstar also contributed some wonderful live elements, adding additional air and organic texture to the soundscape that I couldn't have pulled off on my own. Extra shoutouts to Chipmazilla for your help with getting the mix and master sounding great, and to Zack for lending his Melodyne skills as well. Thank you all for helping me get this one to the finish line!

Remixer(s): Emunator feat. Pixels & Paradiddles, Hemophiliac Name: The Parallax Effect Game: Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 9 [I think FF6 should probably be the primary source here] Sources: Edgar and Sabin's Theme (FF6), Palace of Memories (FF9) Credits: Emunator: arrangement, synths, piano (from :12-:30), sequenced drums, mixing, mastering Pixels & Paradiddles: lead guitar & rhythm guitar (Seph), live kit drums (Josh) Hemophiliac: Piano (from 0:00-0:11 and 3:18-3:26) Chimpazilla: final mixing and mastering Comments: This track is my submission for the first round of Darkesword's Game Set Mash!! remix competition. I've never participated in an OCR competition before, but since three of my creative goals in 2023 are embracing collaboration, trying new styles, and actually finishing things... this felt like an ideal way to help me achieve those goals. And boy, did it help me check all three boxes in record time. I've never produced synthwave style before, and I've also never mixed with live electric guitar either (I have infinitely more respect for anyone who mixes distorted guitars with any other instrumentation, it is NOT easy!) My vision for this track can be summed up as "a 150mph police chase at night in the year 2070," inspired by artists like The Midnight and Carpenter Brut and their mix of rock and metal elements with retro synths and neon-tinged atmospherics. The triumphantly bold melodies from Edgar & Sabin's theme fused so naturally with the crystalline beauty and sparse riffs from Palace of Memories. Josh and Seph laid down some absolutely incredible rhythm and lead guitars that really glued the track together and amped up the drama tenfold. Hemophiliac's piano contributions to the intro and outro set the mood perfectly and fit like a glove with the vision I had. Massive shoutouts to my whole team - Pixels & Paradiddles, Hemophiliac, and H36T, who wasn't featured on this mix but still contributed advice and support along the way - there was no chance of this coming together without y'all. The spirit of collaboration is alive and well! Also, Chimpazilla was absolutely instrumental in helping me polish up the mixing post-competition and getting this to really shine!

Remixer(s): Emunator feat. Gamer of the Winds, Shea's Violin, Lucas Guimaraes Name: Binary Stars Game: Super Metroid, Secret of Mana Sources: Brinstar Red Soil Area, The Dark Star Credits: Emunator: arrangement, orchestration, piano, mixing, mastering Gamer of the Winds: alto flute, shinobue Shea's Violin: solo violin Lucas Guimaraes: backing vocals, rhythm guitar Comments: This remix was created for the August 2023 Pixel Mixers "Two Songs,Two Series" remix competition, though the roots of this concept really date back much further than that. Ever since I started arranging video game music, these two themes have been perpetually stuck in my head as possible source material, but I never found an approach that stuck. My hard drive is littered with half-baked takes on both themes spanning the past decade that never went anywhere. It seemed fitting that the first arrangement I managed to complete is a fusion of both! All things said, this track came together in 6 days, which I think is a personal record for fastest start-to-finish time on any remix I've submitted thus far. I took major inspiration from the soundtracks to Hollow Knight and the Ori series, both of which feature lush, intimate orchestration that heavily relies on solo performances and small ensembles, combined with unique instruments from all around the world that aren't typically featured in an orchestral setting. It was a challenge writing an arrangement that featured a huge instrumental range while always maintaining ample room to breathe and never feeling overstuffed. The cast of collaborators really brought this concept to life for me. Greg is an absolute rockstar on winds and has already helped me on several other arrangements (and certainly many more to come) coming in clutch with performances and improvisation on both the alto flute and shinobue. Shea's Violin is a new collaborator who also delivered a beautifully rendered solo violin line that tracked my section string arrangement, as well as original soloing during the outro. Lucas heard this WIP and offered to lay down some guitar tracks and a massive vocal stack at 1:36 - these little extra details really helped flesh out the texture of the track overall. I'm so grateful to all three of you for your contributions!! As for the title, there's several levels going on. In astronomy, binary stars are two stars bound in orbit by each others' gravitational pull that are perceived as a single entity to the human eye. In a sense, these two sources felt intertwined to the point where they practically morphed together in my mind. The arrangement itself frequently uses call and response between the two themes played on different instruments, occasionally playing motifs from both at the same time. Also, there's the serendipitous fact that both sources happen to have "star" in their name!

@Liontamer Kris hammered out a new master this morning that's a little softer and helped tame some of the harsh frequencies in the highs. The project file originated before this new computer build so it's dicey if I'll be able to make any mixing changes, but hopefully this sounds better to your ears! Updated in the first post.

This is a really tightly-written ensemble, and the performances across the board are solid! That organ solo is particularly nuts, but all of the performers here are pulling their weight. The drums aren't mixed perfectly, and there's other minor quibbles that have been correctly identified, but considering how much you have going on in the mix, everything is still clear and identifiable at the right times. This is a clear and easy pass! YES

Ahhh, I have to say this new version sounds objectively worse. I'm not sure what happened but there's now MAJOR distortion artifacts all over the track; basically any time that the guitars are chugging, this sounds like mud. Would you be willing to share an unmastered version of this with some headroom so I could try to determine if these issues are happening during the mixing or mastering phase? I'm not a mastering expert by any means but it sounds like you basically ran your old master through a second mastering chain and it's just crushing against the limiter. Still a no from me, but I'm 100% confident we can workshop this to a passable state!

Quick co-sign on this. Solo piano is extremely hard to pull off in a consistently compelling way - there needs to be something special to the arrangement, performance, or sound design, and unfortunately I feel like there are parts of this that just fundamentally don't hold up in any of those categories. The arrangement, as Brad mentioned, is meandering on a macro scale and doesn't seem to have a very deliberate dynamic curve in mind, and frequently jumps between ideas that don't flow together cleanly. The performance is unfortunately sloppy, especially during the first minutes where everything is played staccato. This writing also leaves the soundscape feeling barren at many points, which just highlights the timing issues more. I felt like this was at its most successful during the last 45 seconds, when the left hand was playing more lush chords and the rhythms felt tighter. I really admire the ambition here, and I have no doubt that y'all could get a piano remix up to the bar, but I think I agree with my fellow judges that this particular arrangement isn't it NO

I'd like to put my interest in for this too on the PSX side!

Sorry about the delay on this one - when I was evaluating this in the inbox, I couldn't figure out which source you were remixing and I never followed up on my email. I'm glad Larry was able to get it sorted out! This is an easy rubber stamp from me - you picked a quirky source tune and ramped up that quality even further. The live performances really breathe life into this in a way that sampled instruments might have fallen short with, and definitely puts this over the edge for me. YES

The source composition is fantastic but man, am I glad that that gnarly MIDI saxophone sample is gone ? This understated, cinematic take seems to hold a reverence for what makes the original source material so memorable, but brings it into the modern age with an array of beautiful hybrid cinematic samples and vocal lines. Everything is tightly woven together and dripping in personality. It really feels like you're hitting your stride with this style here, I think everyone is going to love this! YES

I hate to say it, but I think Larry is absolutely right here. This does not sound like it's an improvement over the previous submissions. It feels like you are getting diminishing returns on your effort with this track and in some ways, even backsliding in the wrong direction. I'm going to drop some general creative advice, speaking from personal experience as someone who struggled a lot during my formative years as a musician. I hope this is well-received and not taken in any way that might seem to be discouraging or out-of-line, because I would love to see you find success with your submissions and I know you've got it in you. You've clearly got an ear for arranging and writing catchy arrangements, and your passion for creating music is there which might be one of the most important qualities that anyone can have in a creative space. But I think you could benefit from rethinking your strategy here. I've found that I grow far more as an artist from trying new ideas than I do from poring over my older attempts and trying to polish them. From what I'm hearing, you seem to be at the point in your musical journey where you've still got a lot of room to grow on certain fundamental areas such as sound design, mixing, and production, and I strongly believe you will see a greater benefit from simply practicing as much as you can. Watch video tutorials on Youtube. Seek out new free plugins and sample libraries that can help you unlock different techniques and learn how to take advantage of. You'd be amazed at what is out there for free these days - check out Spitfire Labs for some creative sample libraries that can bring some texture and personality to your tracks, or just search "Free VST 2023" on Youtube and you'll find a trove of options. Find your favorite artists on OCRemix or elsewhere, download those tracks, and put them in your DAW side-by-side with your own arrangements, and see what you can learn about mixing, balance, and effects. Then, put it all into practice and create as much music as you can, and don't spend too much time on any one idea at this point. That can come later. I think if you refocus your efforts to any or all of these areas, you'll find a lot more reward for your effort in the long run. My gut tells me that you'll be blown away by how much you've improved after 6-12 months of absorbing knowledge and focused practice. Again, I hope you take this advice in the spirit that it's intended, coming from someone who struggled a lot during the first few years of learning music and didn't feel like I was getting a lot out of my effort. You've got some strong fundamentals and a great work ethic, but seeing the results on this string of resubmissions suggests to me that there might be a better path forward for you to get where you want to be NO

I was borderline in favor of this track on the first go-around on the strength of the arrangement, quality of performances, and the clever way that the non-rock instrumentation was weaved into the arrangement. All of that is still present here, but the mixing is more well-rounded and beefs up the low end considerably without sacrificing any of the intensity of the rest of the mix. I'm glad that your last submission wasn't your only shot, eh? Nice work Lucas! YES

Original Decision THIS IS FROM THE ALBUM PROJECT "Golden Sun: A World Reignited" - Figured it was worth noting Your ReMixer name: Lucas Guimaraes Your real name: Lucas Guimaraes Your email address: Your website: https://twitter.com/Thirdkoopa - knew nothing better to link for this Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile: http://ocremix.org/community/profile/33965-thirdkoopa/ Name of game(s) arranged: Golden Sun Name of arrangement: Isaac's Only Shot Name of individual song(s) arranged: Battle! Isaac Feat: Gamer of the Winds, GuitarSVD, tibone, and StormSkuggan BAHAHAHA My first ever resubmit! Though really, this was a lot of fun to do. Thanks to the helpful corrections in the judges forum we were able to get this out pretty quickly. We fixed up (almost) everything that we could without re-recording. Pretty sweet, yeah? So a bit more about the track that I missed from my last rundown: First, some credits. Lucas Guimaraes - Arrangement, Drums GuitarSVD - Classical Guitar Gamer of the Winds - Flute tibone - Electric Guitar, Bass StormSkuggan - Synths, Mixing I got something wrong in my post: StormSkuggan mixed. I had a lot of the initial work done, but Storm was the one that brought it home. It was a pleasure to work with him again for editing and I'm excited to see what music we all make in the future! Initially, this was Moonbike's claim on the track. I started working with him on the last 2 months of the album. He ended up having to drop from the album altogether, so I took over. This, Mercury Lighthouse, and the finishing touches for Venus Lighthouse were in one of the busiest months of my life - Right when I finished graduate school. I was incredibly thankful for the people who came together at the last minute to put this iconic track together for the album. And the fact that I was able to revisit it a few years later... This arrangement is pretty simple, but it definitely goes a lot of places. I wanted to go in more of a hard rock direction, and this definitely succeeded at that. 80's hard rock, Spaghetti Western guitars, and a flute like Jethro Tull. What more could you ask for from a ReMix? A lot of my arrangements have definitely been on the slower side lately, but I definitely plan to keep making stuff that packs a punch like this. These stems are mostly untouched from about 4(?) years ago. The original performances had some rough edges because we had little time between the completion of the arrangement to the album deadline. The first is in the timing of the flute. Storm completely edited and nailed it on that one. The flute only appears for a short bit, but it was important for us to sell that bridge. I still can't express enough how much I appreciate him joining me on revisiting a mix from so long ago. The next is the tuning of the guitar. I handled most of the tuning by bringing the initial stems to Melodyne and tuning them up slightly. prophetik music can't go without being mentioned, though. I asked him for feedback, as he was one of the judges to vote no last time (I like to make my resubs one and done!) and he started typing out all the timestamps for me to fix the guitar solo. He realized quickly it'd be faster to do it himself, so he took the busy time out of his schedule and gave some fine tuning to the solo, mostly moving notes up or down a half step to fit the key (the 4th's and the 7th's, iirc). Yes, that does mean we have a stem that was melodyned twice. Modern tools are powerful. With fan communities, I've been incredibly lucky to gain a bunch of amazing friends and mentors, and prophetik music is definitely up there for me with mentors. I know not everyone in the community is a fan of his posts, but he genuinely means well and he's just focused on lifting the music, and artists, up as possible. I really respect that and wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe one day I'll get to work with him proper on a track I hope everyone enjoys! And while this is my first resubmit, it'll be far, far from my last.

I was already a YES on the original submission, and this cleans up the mixing and adds in some subtle variation that may tip the scales for some of the judges who were previously borderline. I really appreciate the changes at :36 to give the listener a break from the arpeggio while still keeping the momentum of the arrangement going. The extended outro feels more natural and ends on a more satisfying note. Easy signoff from me, thanks so much for being willing to revisit this track! YES

Original Decision hello, Thanks to Larry for his support, that's what motivated me to review the song. This is my resubmission. Thanks Re Mixer : Onirik Dreamer real name : Karim Ajroud email : website : https://onirikdreamer.com Link of old version vidéoclip : user id : 38210 Name of game arranged : Castlevania (NES) Name of original track : Poison mind (composed by Kinuyo Yamashita & Satoe Terashima) Name of my track : Simon's madness Additional information about game : 1986 (NES) Link to the original soundtrack : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb2VQmWQ-J8 Your own comments about the mix : I wanted to make a more energetic and electronic version of this theme while keeping the general atmosphere of the original track.

As expected, Larry is a hater and this track is gorgeous. The macro dynamics across the entire arrangement are incredible, and the blastbeat sections are well sequenced and appropriately massive. The clean sections provide some much-needed contrast. This all sounds exactly like it should for the genre. I think there's an element of this that feels a little less organic than I would like because everything is presumably sequenced, so the drums don't quite have the organic variation in timing that you'd get from a live performer, but it's certainly above my personal bar. YES (quit hating, Larry!)

This is gorgeous across the board - like Rebecca's best work before this, this is led by some incredibly expressive performances from a variety of collaborators and bolstered by some tastefully-written orchestration and a great variety of supporting percussion. The sources are mixed organically and transition quite seamlessly. Are those bird calls being played on an ocarina or are those actual samples? The only thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is the tambourine 1/16 notes that start at 2:55 and cut off abruptly - it doesn't feel like that was faded in or out properly. It comes back in elsewhere in the track and just felt detached from the rest of the percussion section. Very minor gripe. I really dig this, nice work Rebecca! YES

You're definitely onto something with the concept here - your arrangement takes the more energetic Tikal source material and breaks it down to its core components and crafts something that's very brooding and ominous. This approach could definitely work, but unfortunately, the production quality is not up to the level that it needs to be at. First and foremost, it sounds like there is very little processing or effects on any of the percussion, which combines with a very static groove that doesn't have a lot of rhythmic variation to give this a very unpolished feel right from the start. There's a lot of room to adjust the velocities and patterns for your drums to help build a groove that pulses and flows more, rather than riding the same energy level the entire time. Some reverb, saturation, and EQ cuts on select elements could also help the sound of the drum samples themselves shine. The synth patches that you use throughout the arrangement are great choices and fit well together, but again, there's a lack of processing or effects to properly pad out the soundscape. The lone drum breaks with no other effects or texture on the intro/outro especially feel lacking in layers. There's a lot of empty space that could be filled with pads, additional instrumental parts, reverb, delay, or sound effects. As it is, your soundscape feels underdeveloped. Keep working at it, and if you haven't yet, make sure to hop in our Discord Server or the Workshop forums to get more specific feedback on future arrangements. You've got a good ear for inspiration and did a good job with making Tikal's Theme your own, so keep practicing and improving your craft and you'll get there! NO

This was one of my early favorites from the FF8 album. As is the case with the source material, everything is constructed essentially from a series of loops, but the vocals absolutely elevate this to the next level. The backing chord progression is so dramatic and supports the vocals perfectly. I found the glitching at the end to be a little more hit or miss in terms of execution; some of the effects felt a little too random, and I sometimes wished that it fell a LITTLE more in-time with the beat, but I get what you were going for so it's not a big deal in light of all the other amazing things you brought to the table. YES

Too easy - you managed to squeeze a TON of juice out of these source tunes but craft it up into something wholly unique and fresh. I didn't feel the need to timestamp this, but it definitely passes the vibe check to me with regards to source usage. The melodies have been twisted up and often rely on the chord progressions to bridge the gaps, but you come back to the source material frequently enough that, even with the very jammy, improvisational approach to arranging, you're never far from Metroid material for long. Production is clean and polished, the sequenced instrumentation fills a solid supporting role, and this is generally firing on all cylinders from a technical standpoint. You're definitely on my radar by now, your recent submissions have been consistently stunning and showcase a diverse range of talents. YES

I've gotta be honest, this is one of those times I look back on an older vote of mine and feel like I would have flipped if I listened to it again today. Despite the slightly weaker intro, the rest of the track is just so good. The keychange, the pulsing synths, and the lush soundscape by the time it hits the climax are just rock solid. It's a lovely remix

Remixer: Emunator Performer (Credited): Marissa Turnage (website: https://www.marissa-turnage.com/violin.html) Violin performance, violin arrangement Mastering: Chimpazilla Name: Ancient Relics Game: Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 3 (GBA) [cameo] Sources: Aquatic Ambiance (primary), Water World (GBA) [cameo] Comments: When considering making (yet another) remix of Dave Wise's classic "Aquatic Ambiance," it's hard not to question whether or not you actually have anything unique to contribute to the canon of legendary arrangements that already exist. Even if I did have a vision, were my skills up to the level they needed to be to execute? For a long time during the process, I didn't even have an answer to those questions for myself, but I kept trying anyway. Eventually, around mid-2019, my skills as an arranger and producer finally started to catch up to my ambition, and things started to take shape. When composing this arrangement, I had a very clear visual in mind that influenced nearly everything about final product - one of a decaying, post-industrial civilization that had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by marine snow and bioluminescent creatures that were slowly reclaiming this as their home. I built a sound palette that reflected this contrast, merging the organic sound of vocal pads, piano, and belltones with an array of warped and rusted industrial percussion, a warbling synth lead, and a gritty resonant bass. From a compositional perspective, I wanted this to be a slow burn, using only glimmers of the original source material at first. It's not until nearly 2 minutes in that the iconic Aquatic Ambiance melody shows up in full. I let the lead synth fall deliberately behind the beat to capture the feeling of drifting along in an ocean current, guided only by the soft glow of the sea life around you. Past that point, the arrangement takes a more dramatic turn, tethered by the persistent harp and piano arpeggios and the steadily rising pulse of the electronic/acoustic drums. At 3:36, a string section makes a final climactic run through the source melody, led by some stunning solo violin performances from my good friend Marissa. It's no exaggeration to say that this track would have never seen the light of day without her contributions - my sequenced strings were simply not cutting it, and the sharpness and expressiveness of her performance made all the difference. Words simply fail to express my gratitude to her for helping bring my vision to life! From there, the arrangement closes off with a major key reinterpretation of Aquatic Ambiance's melody on the violin one last time, which serves as a grounding presence as everything else around it drifts away into formlessness and serenity. My first demo of this track dates back to November of 2017, and since then, I've clocked over 130 hours of working time on the project file. I've learned more about the craft of music production and grown more as an artist through this project than any other I've done to date. It's no stretch to say this is the most intensive, challenging arrangement I've ever attempted, but I also think it's turned out to be my best. Now here's hoping I never spend this long on another arrangement ever again!! Sources:

Sharing some additional comments/arguments that I think may help contextualize my vote, as someone who listens to this genre a lot: I would encourage everyone to use Viking Funeral For the Damned as a reference track - that was direct posted and in my opinion, is OCR's best example of orchestral black metal currently. I feel like this track actually exceeds that quality of production in a lot of respects. I think if the entire track was mixed like we hear at 3:20, I would have NO'd it on the grounds of lack of overall dynamics. However, I would argue that sections that are intentionally walls-of-sound, nested in context of a more dynamic arrangement, is a valid approach and an important component of the extreme metal formula. The remainder of the track demonstrates a great deal of technical competency, maintaining good frequency separation and balance between instruments and is much more than a smushed wall of sound. With regards to the argument that the lead melody in that section is being buried, I'd also make the case that that's a feature, not a defect - melody lines are often, for a lack of a better word, implied during these blastbeat sections, and aren't intended to be audible in the traditional way that you would expect from a guitar lead. It's meant to sound like a cascading wash of sound that alludes to melodies but is more grounded in riffs and an overall feeling of intensity. Is there room for the clarity of the 3:20 section to be improved? For sure. I don't disagree with the critiques given by any of the other judges here on an objective level. Particularly, I do agree that the drums are mixed too loudly and the bassiness in the kick is probably contributing more mud than necessary. But, considering that we are a hobbyist community, without a presupposition of access to professional mixing engineers and recording studios, I would argue that this is, at the very least, good enough for our hobbyist community. I feel that expecting anything more cleanly mixed here is essentially requiring professional quality from our artists, because I don't know how much more could be squeezed out of this one without bringing in an expensive mixing/mastering engineer, or effectively compromising the intensity of the mix and no longer adhering to genre norms. I still stand by my YES vote here. One more reference track/album that might help - Shade Empire features a heavy slew of orchestral instruments along with guitars, and employs a wall-of-sound blastbeat approach to some parts of this song. The lead guitar is definitely sidelined during those sections as a stylistic choice, and the orchestral instruments aren't always super crisp, but it demonstrates a similar level of dynamics when the arrangement is viewed as a whole, even if some individual sections are lacking dynamics and clarity on a micro scale. Even if this ends up being rejected, maybe these reference tracks will prove helpful in adjusting the mix to clean it up further. Or, at the very least, hopefully someone reading this enjoys these songs ?