Hi Brandon,
Thank you for your input on the song! I would contest you in several points in your post, most specifically that using the word "muddy" frequently implies that some parts of the mix are not clearly audible. It *is* a very dark mix, however, it was stylistically built that way (a la "brooding and ominous" above). I do agree with you that I would have liked for the final product to have come out more "spacious" and less "distant", if you know what I mean.
In reference to the quieter guitar tracks - because we use so many tracks in each project, I often utilize a "wall of sound" approach when mixing dense guitar or keyboard tracks, where certain tracks are used more to provide texture and depth. It is an uncommon practice, but when done correctly it provides the track with a sense of scale unmatched by having all of the individual tracks up-front in the mix.
