Gario

That's pretty cool - I always enjoy a good genesis arrangement of non-genesis properties, there's so much potential with that chip that so few realized during it's lifetime.

Alright, so I'll compromise my weekend and likely next week of playing Elden Ring's expansion to give this some attention, okay? Sound good? Good, let's go. Interesting style for this arrangement, I don't hear it too often on OCR. It's short (maybe a tad too short, given the style), but with the time it has it does complete a musical thought so that's not a bad thing. That first minute is rich and full of detuned piano goodness, and with the lighter accompaniment that child choir does a good job standing out. I think the second half starting at 1:08 the backing instruments are still too cluttered, though. It's a combination of things that is catching my ear - from at least three instruments sharing the same range (that piano, the strings, and the lower end of the choir), and the piano sounds like it holds the pedal for too long, letting too many notes ring all at once. At 1:35 things open up a bit, but that piano pedal is still creating a lot of mud in that lower middle range. I really like the idea of this one, but I think being too cluttered in about 40% of the track is too much for me to give a pass. I recommend lightening up on that piano sustain pedal (or not use it for a track with this density), and perhaps shifting registers for the strings so that it doesn't share the same register as the piano if it's still causes issues. I think what mixing issues it may have had have been resolved, but the middle of the track needs some breathing room in the mid EQ range so I hope some of these suggestions can help. NO

Well, this is certainly an approach. This is almost contemplative in it's pacing, and the guitar work just sounds... thick and rich. I like the use of register to help distinguish the first second from the second - the tension really does sound elevated from one section to the next. This is certainly a conservative arrangement, but the instrumentation, tempo change, and small variation in repeating the ending section (repeating 2:54 - 3:24 with double bass and more strained lead guitar), as well as the shift in register from the lead halfway through the arrangement should be considered plenty of individualization from the artist, for OCR's purposes. I can see the argument that the notes are more or less the same, but I think there's a plenty valid argument on the other side that there's more to personalizing an arrangement than changing the notes and chords. The production is pretty good, though sometimes the lead can get lost in the mix (like when it drops to a similar register as the accompaniment at 0:54), but overall it's acceptable if I don't want to nit pick it. The arrangement is conservative, but it isn't a cover; it stands on it's own when compared to the source, which is what I'm looking for when it comes to OCR standards. I think it'd be a great addition to the site. YES

Easily the funkiest boss music from the MMX series, and I think this arrangement really ramps that factor up to 11. If you like reharmonization, jazzy chord combinations, and solid guitar performances complimented with interested synths then this is gonna be your jam. It does take a minute for one to start pulling the source out of this arrangement, but once you hear what's being done it's pretty easy to see it clears OCR's bar. The performances, mixing, and production are pretty solid to boot, as well, so I don't see how this wouldn't have a home on OCR. YES

"Despite everything, it's still You." Why is this still in here? Easiest vote of my life. YES

It's funny, I'm probably more familiar with Burning Orphans than with any other track in the Chrono Chross OST due to having it be on some playlists of mine long before I knew it was in Chrono Cross or have played the game; it doesn't even register that others don't have that specific song ingrained in their memory like mine. Story-time aside, they're good sources, and some nice blending of the two in the middle of the arrangement, to boot. Overall I've gotta echo the praises on the arrangement that the others have given; it's well fleshed out and the prog-rock style form keeps it interesting to the end. The instruments are humanized well enough overall, and the instruments that sound stiff (specifically that plodding piano) sound stylistically so with all the processing that went into it so it never bothered me. It's a good example of advice that I give others when working with samples - if it's gonna sound unrealistic you're better to lean all in and make it sound intentional rather than accidental. The production is decent, but not perfect. The mixing is unbalanced in places, specifically being an issue at 2:02 - 2:52 where the lead organ gets drown behind the other instruments rather than popping out above the rest. You can still hear it but it sounds more like a texture than something of a focus for folk to grab onto, like it should as the lead. The issues of the arrangement being 'mechanical' that others have pointed out don't resonate with me, though; the guitars, drums, and bass sound fine to my ear, and the items that sound mechanical have plenty of intentionality and charm to them to where it doesn't register as an issue to me. The production isn't perfect and the mixing could use some sprucing up, but otherwise I think this is a solid front page contender, and in my opinion not even a close call. Nice work! YES

Skitchin'? Man, I only learned about that a few weeks ago with someone bringing this up as an edgy 90's fad. Funny to see the genesis game based on it come up here. Well it definitely melts your face, with those heavy as hell beats and chunky textures. I might've lightened up on the brickwalling so that people could hear the textures better, but that's just me; the brickwalling is the reason this sounds as big as it does. That middle part definitely sounds too crunchy, though looking at the waveform that's probably the least brickwalled section of the track. Even still that section starting at 1:13 could use some better mixing to bring out the chips, mixing down that bass would also help make it less crunchy and actually stand out from the rest of the arrangement. Bring down the sections so that the entire track isn't booming and it'll make the big parts sound, well, bigger by comparison. Not sure if a section that could use better mixing for 16 seconds should be considered enough to sink the arrangement, but if this gets sent back I'd sure appreciate that part being tweaked. Otherwise while it may be too big for my tastes I don't think it needs to be sent back, hope to see it on the front page. YES

This is a pretty mellow arrangement, compared to what I'm used to what I've heard from Vodou Queen. Maybe we should encourage more of this, 'cause it's quite a nice listen. Easy to follow the source, and the overall style is quite different and cool. I hear the complaints about the highs being dominant in this arrangement, and while I agree they should be toned down they also do give the overall arrangement an ethereal feel throughout. Some of the instruments (I'm thinking the strings in the beginning) are dry compared to the rest of the texture so some light reverb would help the overall track blend, but these are relatively minor concerns. If the track is clipping, sure, bring the master down a notch and it'd be better for it, but to my ears there's nothing that brings this below the bar. Plenty of smaller issues here and there, but I'm not going to let perfect be the enemy of good. Nice work! YES

To be perfectly honest it's probably a matter of whether we catch typical AI artifacting that occurs in things like writing and composing (odd patterns in one case, actual sound artifacts typical of generative audio in the other). Not that this should ever be in the rules, but if folk take AI generated lyrics or sound and change it enough to where it sounds completely imperceptible to human writing we're not going to catch it - we're only human, after all - but at that point the artist put in the work to make it their own anyway so I wouldn't even feel so bad about it. If you're gonna put in that effort to try and fake it though you might as well make it yourself, but I'd commend the effort nonetheless. Still just to be safe you shouldn't do it though; we've gotten pretty good at listening to things over the years and catching oddities, or so I'm told. 😉

Cheetahmen never gets old, and this does a good job giving a nice, hard coat of paint. The style feels a bit oldschool, but I'm old so I like it just fine. Great start and the bridging material does a great job at breaking things up, and the production values are up to OCR snuff. I stand with Mindwanderer and Chimp, though, in saying that the last third of the track has too much direct repetition for OCR. If you want to present a similar idea, that's fine, but give us a good reason to come back to the material, something to justify coming back to such similar material, or else it just sounds like you're stalling for time. Promising start, but this needs to give us a reason to listen to the last minute or so of the track rather than copy the first section and paste it at the end. NO

Very creative direction for this one, must've been tricky to take what's for most intents and purposes an atmospheric source and pull every bit of source out of it and come up with the material to make a fully fleshed out synthwave track. Among everything else, I give props to that. The soundscape is pretty cool, with some eclectic leads keeping the listener guessing what's going to compliment the synthwave texture next. It's definitely an interesting arrangement! There are some concerns with the mixing on this arrangement, and I'll mirror my collegues on those concerns - the leads are certainly something that could've been mixed down to better balance the arrangement. The loud leads also affect the balancing to my ear - that guitar in the beginning sounds like it pans too much to the left and thrown my sense of balance off. When there are more instruments in the mix that issue becomes less apparent, and the issue would be less of a concern still had the leads been mixed with a more levelled out balance. That being said, while I agree with them that this could've been better, there's little under these leads other than the chords, bass, and drums that lose some attention in favor of the leads, so I don't think the issue is one that sinks the arrangement below our bar. The sudden start of the arrangement surprised me, as well, but perhaps that's just me being too easy to shock in my getting-older age. I like this, it's creative and while the mix could be better it hardly is something that drags the arrangement down too much. Nice work! YES

Oh shit, I legit forgot about that promise. Working on it now, believe it or not.

Haha, I've been a bit stuck on this game lately (great game, highly recommended for any roguelike fan), instantly knew the source since it only has one song playing throughout. Dunno how the source does it, but it never gets boring. Just oddly pleasant throughout, so let's see what your track brings to the table. Pretty straightforward arrangement - almost too much so. If the guitar work didn't wank out from time to time I'd have probably rejected this, but you do have a lot of fun with that guitar. I think the performance could have had a tighter performance, since it sounds like it lags behind the synths from time to time, but overall it's alright. I love the overall atmosphere - it just jams out and has a good time with the uptempo track. The timing of the source was probably tricky to work with since the time signature of the source is unusual and shifts freely, but you do a pretty good job jamming with it. I think the issue I have is pretty negligible, so nice work! YES

Well you come into another Red Brinstar mix with anticipation, since you never know what someone's gonna bring to the table with it. Seems like the flavor of the day is A T M O S P H E R E, and a good heavy dose of it to boot. I like the soundscape this provides throughout, up to and including the lovely piano bridge (and I agree with Mindwanderer that any mechanical edge it may have is softened by the overall artificial soundscape this has), and the production values are up to our bar, at least. I'll agree that some of the reverb on the instruments (like the piano) is too heavy, which does cause the arrangement to be muddy in places, but it doesn't sink the arrangement. Rarely do I comment on this particular issue when I see it in arrangements, but since the piano is as exposed as it is in the middle of the arrangement I need to point out that those chunky block chords don't do the section any favors. Open up those chords a bit, don't utilize closed triads in sequence like that since it tends to make the accompaniment sound plodding. Opening up the chords also has the added benefit of giving more flexibility with how to shape every chord, allowing each of the lines to flow better than "every note moves in tandem". Yes, this is a rare "Gario is upset about the counterpoint and parallel 5ths in the harmony" moment I tended to have a lot in the past, but it's something folks who arrange sections for solo piano (or any solo instrument that can make chords) should pay attention to since when everything is the same timbre the blocky, chunky movement is much more noticeable. It's not an unbearable issue but it could certainly be better. Counterpoint critique aside, I think this is a pretty good arrangement that certainly clears our bar. Nice work, always glad to see more Super Metroid on here! YES

Not bad at all, you'll be hearing an update in here before the end of the month.

Honestly, I've heard plenty of this genre to know that much of this is standard death metal fare - sweet complicated guitar work and incomprehensable growls that make more sense the more you listen to them. I agree with Mindwander on some of the vocals being mixed too far behind the guitars. It's so much better at 1:57 when they take center stage, but even what we have elsewhere is plenty postable on OCR; I can still hear and understand the lyrics when they're more behind the mix, just oddly mixed. Overall this is exactly what I'd imagine if someone said "Death Metal Mole Knight", and I'm more than happy to see this where it belongs. YES

A Bravely Second remix? Where did this come from? Didn't you know that this soundtrack isn't supposed to exist, according to popular opinion on the internet because it's not composed by Revo? Memes aside, I actually really do enjoy a lot of what Bravely Second had to offer in it's OST, even if it doesn't have the same character as the original, so I'm happy to see something fresh coming from the series much maligned (and wrongly so, might I add) direct sequel. The source is really quite the slick piano solo, and this is a very solid reinterpretation of that source, with those rich synths and live guitar performances. No question that this is the source, and with the open chords in the beginning and solo starting at 2:29 (not to mention, y'know, that this is transforming a piano solo to an 80's style synthwave reinterpretation, of course) there's no doubt that there's plenty of interpretation going on, here. I hear some critique on the guitar performances, and I'll concur that the lead does sound stiff, almost plodding. I'll also add that there is a hint of hesitation in the lead, as well. Neither of these items sink the arrangement, but they're things you can tighten up in any arrangement moving forward. The other arrangement critique on the solo is something that I concur with - there are a few sour notes in there, which prophetik did a fantastic job isolating. It's only three notes that really stand out as unacceptable (at 2:30, 2:35, and 2:41), the rest aren't nearly as offensive (even if I do agree with everything prophetik says about it). Overall this is a pretty solid arrangement on our hands. Is it perfect? Nah, there's some tightening up in the guitar that could help elevate it, and the solo had a few notes that I'd be better without, but I don't think these send this arrangement below the bar. Nice work! YES

I would like to mention that I now have a cat called Caligula, so it's very funny to see the review call my arrangement "Caligulan". :3

Wow, this thing slams onto the scene, doesn't it? Gotta respect the Birdly opening into the Queen's theme, they blend perfectly (shouldn't be a surprise since the Queen's theme makes short, motivic cameos in the smart race track, as well). It's pedal to the metal all the way through, but it doesn't ever get boring in the slightest - it keeps ya guessing all throughout the track, with all those cameo themes. Definitely keeps it's own identity consistent throughout, with that Birdly theme really acting like the glue to keep it all together. There's an argument to be made that the piano section at the end doesn't quite fit and sounds more like a different song starting, but honestly it doesn't bother me. Did I mention this is loud? This is LOUD. There's a lot going on in the background of this track which gets lost in the mix - did anyone even notice the fantastic trumpet work going on in the background at 0:55, for example? I sure didn't until going back in the arrangement. It would've been to this track's benefit to remix this so that every element is salient in the arrangement (I should know, I have the same issues in my own, as DjP once called it, maximalist music), but there's certainly an appeal to having the elements in the front really blasting in the front of the mix, too. You gain some, but you lose some, too, and I think what was lost is a shame. Not that I think that means this shouldn't be on the front page, because it definitely should be on the front page. When the biggest complaint is that we can't hear all the cool shit going on in the background as well as we'd like, that's not necessarily a bad issue to have. Nice work! YES

@Chimpazilla Could be the typical "Amp stuff" that you're talking about that I'm hearing as less than intentional, many of the notes when they hit buzz and sound almost distant which when layered over the heavy reverb, which hits me as wrong. I could be incorrect calling it a mistake, though looking at the waveform those hits are really smashed against the limiter. I stand by my judgment particularly because that reverb is really oversaturated, but I could see your point that it might be something more stylistic that I'm hearing negatively.

Nice and short arrangement of a classic, and it's full of flavor throughout - love the overall idea behind this one. I don't mind the panning of it, there's enough going on in both ears where it balances out on headphones, but the overlimiting hurts the overall production quality; there are artifacts everywhere that just kills the quality of the lead. There's plenty of volume in this arrangement, turn down the levels so that there's less room for limiting issues. The reverb on the lead is pretty excessive, too, even for the style, so turn that down a bit, as well (that also will help with the overlimiting since that will decrease the overall levels, as well). I like it, I want to see it fixed and sent back our way since it's really quite close to being front page material. NO

Octopath love! Some great music in that OST, so it's nice to see it getting attention in here. The arrangement is decent, especially considering how limited the source material is. Most of the instruments chosen create a nice, ethereal blend with that clean guitar and those synths that remind me of Celeste, and that opening section with the panning phased pads is brilliant. The overdrive guitar at 1:18 - 1:48 and that lead are stiff, though; the guitar sounds like the same loop on repeat, and the lead synth sticks out in the mix and doesn't have the special attention to dynamics and phrasing the other instruments have. It's the lead instrument, it's very noticeable that it plods along against such well constructed textures. At 2:19 - 2:49 the lead issue isn't resolved, and now the guitar sound sounds like static in the background. The section at 3:50 sounds considerably better; while the guitar could sound more like strumming than individually picking every note (making it sound stiff) it's not bad, and the rest of the arrangement around it sounds great. The fade-out at the end lasts about two measures too long, but that's a nitpick more than anything. The production values are pretty good in this one overall, with a nice soundscape to boot. It's a close call for me; those two sections really stand out as below the par set by the rest of the arrangement, but I don't think it's enough to sink the arrangement overall. It's not perfect, but the sum of it's parts are still quite good so I'd not want to deprive the track of an OCR audience. YES

Coming in as a fresh judge on this, let's see what we've got here. Interesting source, and the arrangement changes the pace of it to sound more energetic, which is pretty cool. The arrangement is interesting for the first thirty seconds, but the arrangement repeats the sections while layering more items on top of it about three times before moving on, and returns to this same section at 3:02 to close the track out. The issue this creates is a sense of repetition that while not *exactly* repeating it *feels* like it because the same instruments are doing the same thing over and over again while adding items on top, so the textures are repeating and causing the arrangement to feel dull (it's what the judges and I call a track being "too static"). If you insist on doing something like this, at the very least be willing to drop textures out and/or have different instruments fulfill the textures that are playing, that helps keep the track interesting for longer periods of time. The section at 1:50 does a lot to revitalize the arrangement, though, so an alternative is to simply have fewer iterations of the original idea, have the layering happen faster so that there isn't as much overall repetition in the arrangement. Concerning the production values, there's mud created by the pad, the long cutoff with the lead, and the oversaturation of reverb on many of the instruments. It creates a good deal of mud throughout the arrangement. As far as the simpler instruments are concerned (like the fake guitar-ish instrument used at the beginning), while they don't sink the arrangement I would consider asking yourself if they were being used as filler while you found an instrument that best complimented the overall arrangement, as often an artist might use any instrument to fill a role so they can get the music down quicker without returning to see if other instruments might sound better in the role. Something to consider, but if that's the sound you choose at the end I won't hold it against the arrangement. The static nature of the arrangement does sink this below our standards, though; it was difficult to listen to all the way through since I was getting tired by the minute mark. The bridging material in the middle provides a fantastic breath of fresh air that I enjoyed, so either make the material getting there more interesting or perhaps trim the material approaching that section so we can get to the other good stuff faster. NO

Note: I don't believe I can produce an unbiased vote due to this being on an album I'm directing, but I will drop my thoughts on this regardless. This is a track that Voduo and I worked through quite a bit, so I know all of the iterations that it went through. It's biggest strength throughout was it's daring use of SFX to compliment the source, and the variety of harmonizations used through the mountain source. There is a little clashing between the minor harmonies and major melody sometimes, but in this stage it more or less adds flavor and doesn't detract from the enjoyment I get from the track. The production is clean, though I do hear the lack of the lowest end (anything below 50hz) upon relistening with some fresh ears. That could be solved by giving the instruments acting as the bass and kick some bass EQ balancing, since it's not *lowpassed* from what I can see in a spectrum analyzer, just lacking in that area. That'd solve both the lack of presence the bass has on neutral headphones and the overall soundscape issue this has. I wouldn't mind handing it back to her with that critique in mind, but I also do believe that it's in a state that's good enough at least for the album and possibly for the site; I'd not have accepted this track as finished otherwise. I'd likely give this a YES, even if I wasn't biased in favor of the track to begin with.

You tend to forget that this was created by HAL Laboratories until you listen to the OST, which sounds like "What if Kirby All Stars, but Medieval?"