DarkSim

Really solid start, and a great upgrade of the source tune, but for a short track there's too much repetition here. I can almost see the project file in my mind! Drum loop sounds good, but it's effectively unchanged throughout the whole piece, just a dropout here and there. Bass effects are nice, but overused and in the same pattern making the repetition too obvious. Mixing is pretty tight, and the instrumentation works, the whole thing just needs a more interpretive and engaging arrangement. Would love some more personal and varied percussion as well. Dynamically it's at a very similar level throughout. At the very least there ought to be a break section, and the choruses should feel like a real climax to the song. The repetition is killing the sense of progression through the track, so the listener lacks clues as to which section is coming next. Building excitement and anticipation is one of the challenges when creating a great arrangement. Try and think about these things if and when you decide to revisit this one. NO

Experimental lounge-rock with a Middle-Eastern flair. Sounds pretty cool! The slow tempo necessitates that sound design must be good, as there's more time to dwell on the character of the instruments, and thankfully that's the case here. The guitar tone is rich and smooth, particularly the noodling lead. Not too sure on the saw at 2:04. Sounds a bit like air being let out of a balloon. The bass is doing work here, and there are some ominous pads providing a level of uneasiness to go with this section. We're back to the slow jam afterwards though; just cruising. I was hoping there would be a bit more direction to this piece, as it does seem to noodle around somewhat aimlessly for a bit longer than I was comfortable with, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that in a piece of this style. What's here is presented very well, and is a great way to expand on the source while putting your own stamp on it. YES

I just reviewed your other 4-source Runescape submission "We're All Ali Down Here", and this is another long, epic labour of love that you've clearly enjoyed putting together. Tons of detail, tons of instruments, and again a pretty hot mastering job. Audacity tells me there's a lot of clipping in the second half of the arrangement, but I couldn't hear any audible artifacts so I guess you got away with it this time. Careful on that in future though! The mixing sounds great, no need to push the master too hard. Great synth work at 2:57, with some squeaky tremolo and pitchbend working well with some interplay between the leads. There's a section following that from 3:56 that's becoming a bit of a signature of yours, I think! Something about that groove pattern is very you. Highlight is definitely that guitar solo at 4:21, before a bombastic finish. There's even a bonus ending with actual fireworks to finish. I can tell you didn't want to finish this one without giving it a proper send-off, and there it is. YES

It's a strong source tune with a distinctive and catchy melody, and the direction you've chosen to go in is a good one. I think it could really work as an electro-rock jam with lots of interplay between lead instruments. Unfortunately, at the moment the mixing is all over the place, and the piece doesn't sound cohesive. Each instrument sounds like it's in a different space, particularly the drums, which don't sound like they're in the same room as each other. The hi-hat sounds close, the snare sounds far away, and kick sounds very muffled. Also both the hats and snare are left-panned, leaving a feeling of imbalance. The bass guitar in the source is doing some interesting things, however you've rearranged and simplified it to be much more disco sounding, which doesn't really seem to be working with the feel of the rest of the track. I can't decide if it's a rock band, an EDM track, or a disco piece. I think head back to the drawing board with this one, nail down a style you want to go for, and then find a sound palette that works for that genre. Once you've got that laid out, try and build up the mixing piece by piece, so that each instrument sounds like it belongs with the others, and try to maintain clarity of sound with each addition. If things are starting to clash in terms of frequencies, or things start to sound muddy and muffled, don't continue until you've found away to restore that balance. If you keep adding things without addressing the mixing as you go, it'll get very hard to clean up later on. Pay attention also to panning, although this is easier to fix once the mix is closer to completion. NO

I like this a lot. There's great sound design throughout, and chunky beats with a decent groove to back up the instrumentation. The beats aren't chopped too heavily, and when they are, it's very tastefully done. I like how the melody is presented softly at 0:39 with the synth flute, and the piece circles back to it at the end for a final run-through with that gorgeous saw lead. In the middle of the arrangement, we have the temple ruins theme, which sounds very Zelda. The source definitely has a nod to Link's Awakening there, and the Game Boy Zeldas have always had harmonically-challenging source tunes, so those odd-sounding scales are in keeping with that. I like the more ethnic percussion and Japanese-sounding timbre of the instrumentation in the break at 1:56. When the beat comes back in at 2:16, it's got even more of a groove to it, and the piece builds to its climax, before a nice ending section to resolve things. Not a lot to criticise here for me, although if I'm being picky I think some of the transitions could have been telegraphed better, particularly moving between unusual scales and harmonies, and perhaps it would have been nice to vary up the beats/fills a tiny bit more. But I'm really reaching for suggestions there! Top stuff, and I enjoyed listening over and over again picking out extra details. YES

There is a strange sound to that piano that I spent the whole track trying to figure out whether it was being played live or not - I guess this is what we mean by the 'uncanny valley' of a performance. Perhaps it's being played live using a sampled instrument, and that's where the uncanniness is coming from. Either way, it doesn't sound bad, and the fact I can't tell 100% is surely a good thing. The arrangement is conservative, but trimming everything down for 1 instrument and not having it sound too thin takes skill, and you've pulled that off here. Some of the faster left-hand work gets a bit lost (e.g. 0:54), but I like the consideration of using staccato right after that part, for a contrast. The triumphant section from 1:38-2:25 sounds good, although was that the wrong transitional chord at 2:11-2:12? Actually, listening to this section again, it's possible that the uncanny feeling I had about the performance could be that the notes are being played with a higher velocity than it feels like they naturally should be. As this triumphant section builds, it sounds like the overall volume is increasing, but the velocity of the notes (right-hand) is staying the same. Regardless, I think this one does enough to pass. It would be nicer if the piano had a more pleasant, richer tone, but efforts have clearly been made to made this as natural-sounding as possible, with plenty of attention to dynamics and articulation. YES

This is definitely a trap remix of the fairy fountain music, and it does a decent job! Unfortunately, as proph and MW have said before me, we do look for more substantive arrangements that go beyond the presentations of the original themes. Interestingly though, when I heard the intro to your track, I immediately thought of All Together Now, by The Farm - a huge UK hit from the 90s. Maybe there's inspiration to be drawn from there for some original interpretation? Sadly in its current state it's a NO

Sounds super chill, and production is clean, but I'm not sure what you mean about the 'modern feel' - I hear some filtered, lo-fi sounding drums in parts, that even have some light stutter effects on them, but other than that the instrumentation sounds quite MIDI-like. The samples you've used for guitar and piano have little to no humanisation on them - right out of the gate at 0:02, those fast hammer-ons are presented the same artificial way 6 times in the first 30 seconds. Same with the piano - all the notes seem to be playing in the same way. If you listen to the source tune, the guitar sounds much more humanised, even though it's still clearly sampled. Nothing wrong with using samples at all, but when they sound noticeably rigid in this way, it distracts from the listening experience somewhat. It's a beautiful piece that at the moment is being carried by the strength of the source tune, and the switch to 4/4. I don't have any problem with the drum writing - the minimalism there and the lo-fi sound is working for me, but the instruments all lack character. I'd want to hear some more humanisation and original part writing to pass this one, I'm afraid. NO (resubmit)

Great to hear this one back again! Even better, you've taken on board a lot of advice and this version sounds fantastic. It's always a pleasure to see feedback being taken on board in a positive way, and producing a result like this. It's a dreamy remix, very fitting for an ending theme, and the instrumentation fits well. The resonance on the lead guitar at 1:28 and 2:11 is still a bit on the harsh side, but it's a huge improvement over the first submission, and I'm really glad you were able to tighten up the performances and re-record those parts. All the other issues I mentioned in my previous review have been addressed, so I'm happy. Not much else to say really - thanks for resubmitting! YES

I've never seen a track clip so much yet still sound this decent. That said, the balance is significantly skewed to the low-end, and the clipping becomes way more audible in the final section, from 5 minutes onwards. Fixing that would be a priority. Love the swaggering groove this carries with it. As if it wasn't big enough though, I really liked how you stretched it out between 1:22 and 1:43, experimenting with the timings of the groove a bit more. Instrumentation is cool, incorporating lots of middle-eastern sounds with the trappy snares, and the addition of trumpets works well with the palette. The only thing that didn't gel with the mix were the 'Ha!' voice samples. They were a little dry and stood out - might have been better to layer them some more, thereby adding some more body, like you've done with the 'Woo!' samples. Arrangement is solid, weaving between the 4 source tunes without feeling like a medley at all. The source melodies are presented very identifiably, particularly Al Kharid. Using Agents of Keli in the break works well, but then bringing the beat back in at 5 minutes and going full trap on it sounds great. Ultimately this is a great track that's just mastered too hot, and the bass mix seems too high. Fix those 2 issues, and we're golden. CONDITIONAL

Love this source. You've got some strong competition remixing this one - PrototypeRaptor's Chemixtrixx is still imo one of the best remixes on the site (damn, it's 12 years old now too!). Instrumentation and sound design is very similar to the source. Plenty of original material in here though to differentiate it from the other Chemical Plant mixes out there. The section from 1:10-1:44 was really cool, and I loved that it went exactly where I expected it to at 1:45. A trademark Neon X solo from 2:05-2:18 again ends as I was hoping it would, circling back to the source nicely. 1:45 and 2:18 are two great payoffs, when you transition back to the source from your original material. There are a lot of interesting harmonies and changes in chord progression at play here. Right out of the gate, there's the descending bass and reharmonisation of the synth layered on top. It's perhaps because it's such a familiar source that it might sound jarring, but to my ear it doesn't sound bad at all. The dodgiest harmonies for me were at 1:18, with the synth leads, but as it's during a solo you can get away with it. Ending was a little weak, but no real issue there. Overall I'd say this is a fine remix, taking the familiar instrumentation of the source and getting creative with the harmonies to create something wholly recognisable yet fresh in its approach. YES

This one starts out with a nice atmosphere, but unfortunately doesn't develop as much as it should, as the track goes on. The bass arp is kinda cool, but all the synth sounds you've chosen sound fairly simple, and there isn't enough part writing to distract from that simplicity. Kick is very boomy and snare lacks any kind of presence. On top of that, the percussion writing is very basic. There isn't much in the way of fills and transitions between sections. This one needs a lot more work in pretty much all areas, I'm afraid. It sounds unfinished in its current state, lacking attention to detail - even the ending is cut off too early. You've got the bones of it, now flesh them out! NO

When I first started out on my remixing journey in 2009, this was the first source I ever attempted to remix! Totally agree with you that it's a banger. I love the metallic percussion at the beginning, and you've recreated that really well. The pitchbending on the stabs is an interesting choice, it adds a little jazziness that I wasn't expecting. I've got a couple of reservations about the production, which I definitely think could be improved, but nothing is a dealbreaker. There's a lot of sub-bass content, which is bloating the low-end a bit, and could probably be cleaned up to make it sound less fatiguing on the ears. Overall mixdown is a bit on the quiet side, and usually dropping some sub-bass content can help with that. On the opposite end, there's a hi-hat sound that's very present in the foreground, and could do with a little more care to make it sit better in the mix. It's particularly noticeable in the final chorus. Arrangement is conservative, for the first minute and 20 it's like a much beefier cover, but then I do start to notice the differences. I like the section from 1:40, and then the break at 2:30 is nice, with the amped acoustic guitar. Percussion is chunky throughout, with so much layering and distortion on it that it's only just kept under control. Definitely a highlight though, and worth listening out for the detail in there on repeat listens. YES

Cool source tune, and I like the direction you've gone with the remix to make it more cinematic. I've no problem with the samples or instrumentation, but I am struggling to hear them without turning my volume way up. There could be an issue with the reverb here, that it's washing out the overall sound and reducing the clarity too much. Listening to the source after the remix, there's a massive difference in clarity of sound - the original sounds so much clearer. The extra additions of brass, choir, and more countermelodic content in your remix need to really shine in order to make it distinctly different from the original. By improving the mixing and mastering on those additions, you'll also address the other concern that it's too conservative an arrangement. Highlight the differences and the original touches. This is very close to a pass from me, but the production needs to be cleaner. Finally, and this might just be a personal taste thing, but I think it would sound better if you removed the shaker from 2:27-2:41. Let the piano have its moment Gonna close this one out, but I do hope to hear it again soon! NO (resubmit)

What an absolute treat! I don't know how you managed to blend so many elements together to make this incredible Japanese/Irish vibe that still goes hard, but I loved it. When the chorus comes back at 6:35 (yes, 6:35... it's a long one!) it was immediately recognisable and the arrangement led to it beautifully. Production is extremely clean (perhaps a little too clean in places), often sounding like the musicians are right there in front of you. Some amazing instrumentation - opening with marimba, irish pipes, and there's all sorts of flutes and whistles mixed in, and is that a melodica at 1:15 (and later)? You did me dirty though with those Irish pipes. It's one of my favourite instruments/sounds, and we only got 5 seconds of them at the start, and a little bit at 2:18. Booo! More of those please! There are great solos throughout as well, on both acoustic and electric guitars, and the clapping breakdown is a fun interlude, with more melodica action. We get a fully epic buildup from 5:42, with a very Windwaker-sounding melodica solo leading into a female choir getting the goosebumps going. I said it earlier, but the way that chorus returns at 6:35 is masterful. Just a superb build and transition, with a satisfying and recognisable climax to the song. This is how you do an arrangement! I've run out of superlatives now, suffice to say, it's 8 minutes of craziness that brought a big smile to my face. YES

Production sounds great, I wouldn't have minded a bit more stereo separation, as there's a lot down the middle. Energy levels are HIGH and do fatigue the ears over the 6+ minutes duration. Mercifully, there's a break at 3 minutes, and then after the break, although not repetition, it's a similar character to the opening 3 minutes. I'd say that the arrangement and dynamics of the track could definitely have benefitted from an earlier break (maybe a second one as well), and possibly trimming a minute or two off the running time. My favourite bit is the glitching/dubstep-style effects at 4:27. Would have loved a bit more of this, and perhaps earlier in the track, to keep things fresh. All that said, it's another banger from Black Ace, easily a YES

Great idea, but I think you know the execution isn't there yet. The lead sounds OK for the genre, but it's stomping over pretty much everything else. It's the same all-crushing lead for the whole track as well, so it's a bit of a one-trick pony. Happy hardcore music isn't the most... ah... cerebral to listen to, so I'm not too concerned about the arrangement at this stage, but it does need much more care with the production than this. NO

Once again, fantastic sources, and great arrangement, but I'm afraid a lot of my suggestions from last time have gone unanswered with this resubmission. Instantly I noticed that the kick has reverb on it (either as a plugin on the track itself, or baked in to the sample), so it's got too much presence in the low end. Combining this with the on-beat bass and lack of sidechain means that your groove really suffers, and it feels much less bouncy than it should. Try shifting the on-beat bass notes to the off-beat, and adding a 4/4 sidechain on all elements other than your kick (if you don't know how to do this, look up a tutorial for your DAW - it's easy and it'll make your track sound instantly better!). You can drop out the sidechain for the break sections as well, which will give them a better contrast. If you need to move the kick to a separate track to remove/refine the reverb, then do it. That's how I used to do most of my tracks. A note again on the snare - it's been changed to a clap sound now, but the shaker and hi-hats still have higher volume, so it's more like auxiliary percussion than an actual EDM snare. Still needs punch. I dig the new ending! Much better than a fadeout, I hope you agree. A tight kick, punchy snare, sidechain, and some off-beat bass notes will get this track where it needs to go, I guarantee it! Love the source, love the arrangement, but it needs the production levels to match. NO (resubmit!)

My previous review called for more presence in the guitar and bass, better balancing on the vocal pad, and smoother fills/transitions. I'd say you largely achieved those, although there's still plenty of improvement that could be done with the mix. The climax of the song I think is beautiful, around the 2:25 mark - I don't find the vocal pad overused, and I like the interplay with the strings. The drums still lack presence, particularly when they first come in around 1:31, and are definitely the weak point in the track. That said, there's a lot to enjoy here. I like the use of effects, and the panning on them works for me. I feel inclined to say this one's just over the bar, but in saying that I can still hear plenty of potential for improvement. Lots of small issues, but as the major ones from my previous critique have been addressed, so it's a close YES

Hearing this for the first time, and it's a fun one! To use that judging cliché though, "it sounds like something that might have passed in 2005". Right out of the gate we're dropped into the thumping retro-techno beat without so much as a sweep-in or intro. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I'd expect at least a tiny bit of variation to start off the track. I really like that arp synth that comes in at 7 seconds, and as the melody is introduced, the whole feel of the track changes. It's a happy melody, and the pumping tempo really does remind me of OCR of old. The kick and bass seem a little muffled/boomy, certainly lacking in clarity, and the synths individually are very generic sounding, however you do mix them up a lot which keeps things sounding fairly fresh throughout. There is some detail in the automation, particularly filters, however there doesn't seem to be a great deal of stereo separation, and the mix feels very narrow as a result. This isn't a bad track by any means, and there are a lot of fun ideas. I like the big organ at 1:40, and the quirkiness of some of the oldschool sounding synths like that heavily detuned saw arp at 2:05. The strength of this definitely lies in the energetic arrangement, though, which does have its own surprises in there too. The transition around the 2-minute mark is a little iffy, and the break at 1:03, although having a cool acid arp, does expose the very dated-sounding percussion. It's a battle between heart and head for me. My heart is saying yes, but my head is saying no. It's a great effort so far, that still needs more TLC to pass the bar, and if not better synth sounds, then no mistakes elsewhere. Cleaner percussion and mixing, tighten up the transitions, wider stereo space, and try to bring some je ne se quois that helps this mix stand out. NO

I'll be honest, the first 3 minutes of the track I was trying to figure out the time signature! Really interesting rhythms being employed here, and it's hard to pin down with the bass arp and percussion. I think it's still 4/4, but the last beat seems to come in early so it feels like the last one drags on longer. Regardless, I do enjoy more complex rhythmic structures, and with the solid sound design and effects, I didn't find the intro outstayed its welcome, even at over 2 minutes in length. The first 'chorus' part from 2:05-3:00 sounds great. The soundscape is filled out nicely, the kick packs a clean punch, and it does feel like a satisfying end to the long build. After 3 minutes, we get a comparatively ponderous section that didn't really do much for me until the piano came in at 4:50. It's understandable to drop things out for a break section, however the sparsity of this extended section, complete with the straight groove and vanilla-sounding synths, stands in contrast with what came before it. I definitely think it could have been shorter by about a minute to avoid dwelling on the lack of points of interest in that section. Once the piano comes in though, it does again sound very nice and full. The final movement of this piece has a few false drops and stop-start moments, before that big chorus comes in again, leaving on a high. Listening to the source tune after the remix, I can clearly hear the inspiration, and was perhaps a little disappointed that all the things I liked best about the remix were present in the source. That said, it's clear that this is a huge enhancement to the original, and pays a fitting tribute to it. You've extended the running time by about 3 times the source's length, whilst keeping the arrangement and instrumentation similar enough to be clearly recognisable, and each section has a decent build that ends in a satisfying way. Can't ask for more than that! YES

My original review ^ Unfortunately, this seems to have gone completely the other way! I can now barely hear the low-end, and the sound is very thin. There's clearly bass there though, so I've delved a bit deeper and had a look at the spectrum in Live 10 and Audacity to see what's going on. I'm pretty sure the problem lies in your sub-bass frequency. For starters, your kick is at 30Hz, which is way too low. Of course, you can use sub-bass kicks in certain circumstances, but only if you're very careful about the rest of your bass and sub-bass. The bass here is also fighting for the sub frequencies, however, which is probably causing your master compressor some problems, ultimately leading to the thinness. You can see the fundamental/first harmonic of your bass (the lowest frequency) is competing around the 30-40Hz mark, and then the second harmonic (double the frequency of the fundamental) is much louder. If I'm remembering my physics correctly, then typically the fundamental will have the highest amplitude/energy, and all harmonics above will be lower. The fact your second harmonic has more energy could be due to a number of things, most probably the synth bass you're using has multiple tones, and one is playing an octave higher at higher amplitude. I would suggest looking into that, and either removing the voice playing at the lower octave, or simply bumping all the notes up an octave (you would however still have a second harmonic at 120-140Hz in that case, which may have its own set of problems). Getting someone else to master your track is often a good idea, however if the problem is as ingrained as this appears to be, no amount of rebalancing EQ on the master channel will fix it. Arrangement is fun and energetic, with some really creative choices (especially the throat singing - love that addition!), but again it's the production that's letting it down. I hope my advice above can help, and you'll be a better producer for it! NO (resubmit)

Hey, what a cool source tune. Love the direction you've chosen to go with this. Some cool sound design and a nice vibe is laid out in the intro, and the lead synth sounds decent, albeit too high in the mix. It could do with fattening up a bit when it's standing on its own. Might just be a case of turning the volume down, though. Things get a little muddy at 1:09 with the half-tempo section. Funnily enough, the lead is fattened up at 1:22! I like that detail, it works in this chorus section. The percussion is difficult to pick out during these busy sections though, and could definitely be mixed a lot better. Choosing some less 'hissy' samples might be a better choice as well, particularly as the piece progresses. There's a breakdown, a buildup and then a final chorus. There are lots of things fighting for space, particularly the arpeggios, and by 2:42 the character of a lot of the sounds (saws, white noise) blend together to give it a mushy texture, with only the lead really cutting through to carry it. The quiet mastering is also very noticeable during the build and final chorus, where if I turn my volume up to match my usual playing volume, the muddiness becomes obvious. After the climax, we go back to the beginning, and then the track ends. Not a huge fan of that arrangement decision, but I could forgive it if the mixing were up to par. As it is, there's too much detail lost, and the muddiness is hurting your master by not allowing you to crank up the volume to the level it should be. Clean this mix up, and it'll be a pass from me. NO (resubmit)

Well, isn't this a jam? I wasn't sure what to expect from the intro - some of the filtering sounded a little strange - but once things kick off I was bopping my head all the way through. That bass sound that comes in at 0:35 is awesome - although again there's some sort of filter on it that makes it sound like I'm listening through a didgeridoo. Not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but certainly some interesting sound design, and the filter's lifted and the bass mixed up throughout so it doesn't become a nagging issue. This track's got all the staples of a classic electro-house track. Those synth organ sounds particularly fit the genre well, and of course the sidechaining and swung beats give it a monstrous groove. It's not the staples that set this track apart for me, though - it's the detail. The sounds do evolve as the track progresses, there are lots of automated effects at play here, and there's tasteful use of glitching. Love the effects at 3:17 for example - some bitcrushing and filtering from the sounds of things, combined with dropping out the bass for a bar, serves as a nice 'electro-fill'. Source is there if you look for it, at proph has already laid out. Hugely enjoyable track, thanks for submitting! YES

Lovely source tune, and listening to the remix I can see how it started out as a cover, and then felt you getting more experimental as it went on. That Irish whistle lead is haunting, in the best way. A great counterpart to the melody, and mixed perfectly so that it doesn't sound shrill. The vocal pads are also a stellar addition, and the slight element of discord at 2:15 works well with the whistle, adding a definite point of difference from the original. I enjoyed the percussion as well - lots of ethnic additions and metallic sounds keeping things fresh. The mixing on the bells/cymbals is definitely bringing too much heat though, which is a bit of a shame because the reverb is so nice on everything else. Just needed to turn the volume down a bit there, or maybe wetten the reverb a bit. There's also some audible artifact playing quite often from about a minute in. Actually, turning my volume up and listening out for it, it might be intentional! However, it does sound like an artifact due to the dryness and crackliness of it. Could be a shaker? The last minute of choir practice doesn't sound bad, it's just not what I was expecting! I'm not sure it entirely belongs there in that state, but based on the quality of what precedes it, I'm not going to judge it too harshly. This one does do enough in my book, the section from 2:15-3:14 doing the bulk of the work getting it there. YES