pixelseph   Judges ⚖️

This is such a deeply unsettling take on these sources and I'm here for it. Reminds me of a musique concrete approach that just works. The metallic flanging in the right ear around :27 might be the creepiest part of that opening section, inclusive of all the percussion elements, and the gentle turnaround @ :54 adds a nice contrast to the intro. Great use of source, the production is a full-send Hudak experience; literally can't do anything but vote YES

I have been summoned! The guitars sound properly treated to my ear in this mix. The bass living @ 80hz seems to be a mixing decision to give the sub-bass frequencies to the kick drum (which is a stylistic choice for metal that I often make as well) and so it's a feature, not a bug. The drums, though, throughout the mix lack any room tone and sound dry as a bone; the opening choruses (@ 1:27, 2:41) and the second verse (@ 2:04) really demonstrate how dry the drums are. We can expect to feel a lot of dry kick and maybe a little snare, but if there's any room/reverb on the drums, I cannot hear it. Compare this to EK's vocal, which is swimming in reverb by comparison - would love to hear this balanced better! Another thing about the drum writing here that falls flat for me is the lack of time-keeping shells or cymbals - they aren't non-existent, but for this style especially, the song loses a lot of energy by their absence. @ :49 - 1:26 is an excellent example of how much impact from the part-writing is lost from there only being a single cymbal hit (the hats) on every other bar on beat 1. What frequencies proph perceives as noisy in the guitars would be swallowed up by the cymbals in this sort of section. If there was still too much fizzy/scratchy/amp noise (basically stuff above 11khz) audible after that, a nice shelf on the rhythm guitar bus tames that up. This mix has a lot of heart and passion in the writing! The part-writing and performance from the guitars, synths, and vocals are excellent, and my main problems with this piece are the drums and the production in general. I don't think the things it needs to find a home here on OCR are quick fixes, but they are worth pursuing for the song - specifically, to pass this track, I would need to hear: drum programming adjusted to feel more natural and dynamic adjust velocities, add room or reverb to the kit as a whole, and bring some element of time-keeping back to the sections missing it (choruses, verses) vocal production adjusted to balance out the mix EK's reverb crowds out the rest of the band and her own dry vocal, making it hard to decipher what she's singing NO (resubmit)

It's safe to say that source usage isn't an issue in this one! 😉 I want to highlight the programming on the acoustic guitars, because while Trem's pieces are my gold standard for programming virtual guitars in general, the attention paid to making the articulations sound evocative (and not just natural) is excellent. The lead guitar line in particular has rakes into the starts of phrases, there's plenty of subtle trills and turns to navigate the phrases, and the rhythm line has plenty of humanization on the strums. GotW's performance is also a highlight here - it adds a gentle and warm contrast to the bright acoustic guitar, especially when the strings come in to fill the harmonic space. The drum machine sounds straight out of the late '80s, and while I'm not a fan of the robotic feel of the instrument as a whole, I think it's deployed successfully in the mix itself. Only semi-surprised to not hear any Phil Collins tom fills given the style and palette! Happy to sign off on this one - let's get it on the site! YES

LT and proph addressed the same issues I have with this remix pretty succinctly, so I don't want to beat the horse much more than we have already. There's a solid foundation in here to build on top of, but there's more personalization to this track that could be realized on your next go around, Bionic. I'll echo proph's comments specifically on stripping this back in length to the core idea (this theme but synthwave with glitchy amen breaks) and explore more with the soundscape. There's a lot of room for filtering the leads and countermelodies, working some sidechain compression on the drums to really push the limits of the groove, and introducing different harmony underneath the melodies here to give more emotional context. NO (resubmit)

There's a ton of charm in the chips right from the intro. Love the honky synth that takes over @ :24 for the melody, like a cronchy digital sax. The style overall is reminiscent of the submissions to Bishu's beat battles or Eliminate's Audio Combat where the goal is creative sample flipping inside a time constraint. I'm really enjoying the frenetic, attention-snapping transitions between the A and B lines, never really settling too long on one idea before pivoting. Happy hardcore listeners are gonna be eating good with this one! YES

I noted during the No Show that balancing the saxes' volumes more against the rest of the band would be nice to have, but not a dealbreaker. Latest mix definitely sounds more balanced volume-wise in that regard, which is just bonus to an excellent arrangement. To me, this piece sets out to capture that sultry jazz club quintet vibe in the same vein that some of the Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth tracks reimagine the pieces from the original OST - and to that end, this is a successful accomplishment that's 100% above our bar. I was already a YES, and this latest revision hasn't changed my mind. YES

Classic source on this one! That ostinato and longform A-B is a major earworm. Opens with a MkII-style EP running the arp ostinato. Initial ride cymbal hits starting @ :09 sounds like they're all the same velocity (somewhere around the 110-127 range) and very up-front in the stereo image; we call this an "exposed sample" because it doesn't sound natural to the way the instrument would be played by a performer. The next synth layer @ :23 comes in with the choir line from the source with an interesting LFO wobble. The timing on the LFO creates a dissonant rub against the rest of the instruments that's unpleasant to listen to for an extended period. This trucks through the rest of the A section, bringing in the arp counter pluck and synth string line. The drum sequencing has some fun ideas, though the lack of velocity variation is still present here (and continues to be a major problem through the rest of the track). @ 1:18, we transition into the B section with some big burly guitar hits and stanky bass guitar. This section is much more in line sonically and dynamically, though rigidly locked to the grid. The live instruments are less rigid compared to the drums and synths, but the overall presentation (while loud) lacks the compelling, groovy element. 1:51 returns to the A section. The tremolo effect on the guitars is a great texture here, and then competes with that warble synth from earlier. Because they're occupying the same role in the composition, and the effect draws a lot of attention, it's important to decide which instrument should be taking focus and which should lay back. I think the guitar is more success here with it but the decision is yours as the arranger! 2:47 gives us another tasty feel change from the drums under the continued A section. The instrumentation is feeling stale and repetitive at this point, mostly because the only changing element is the drum sequencing underneath it all. 3:13 returns to the B section, and it's a little different from last time! Love the variation here, though my earlier comments on rigidity still apply here. Cool bass groove to signal the outro and it's done. @paradiddlesjosh can speak better on to how to make the most of your kit with velocity programming to sound natural; I'm merely going to point out that the feel of the sequencing is appropriate for the style, but the lack of velocity differences cripples the groove AND what I think is the single most important job of the drums in a rock/metal context - the drummer drives the bus. The drums tell us so much about where the song, dynamically, is going. An example of this is @ :44 - the push to open hats tells us we're bringing the dynamic energy up, but the lack of groove on them hamstrings that feel. The big gnarly guitar and bass hit @ 1:00, by contrast, is damn awesome because the drums cue them up nicely! There are some great ideas on this framework, and some tactical changes would bring this up to our bar. Should you choose to take this feedback and revisit the work, I'd be listening for: humanization applied to velocities and timing on all programmed instruments, most importantly the drums; and a more compelling, dynamic arrangement (have elements rest, switch sections around, etc) If you need more ears on this (or other) piece(s) as you work on them, we recommend our Workshop forum or the #workshop channel on our Discord! I want to stress that this is a great start - would love to see this come back to the panel! NO (resubmit)

I'm really impressed by how uplifting and majestic this piece is, considering how much of Metroid's OSTs are typically spooky and unsettling. And I really appreciate a song title that is exactly what it says on the tin - this is definitely a galactic, cosmic synth track! Great dynamic contour across the track, especially the build-ups and build-downs. Using the bass AND the drums to communicate the section switches is something I appreciate - long bass hits @ :09 - :34 under the Metroid title theme that sidechain under the drums when they enter; switching to a more energetic 8th-note sidechained pulse @ :52; to a quarter-note pulse that drops beat 1 when Tallon Overworld gets introduced, back to long bass hits to communicate the build, back to that 8th-note sidechain pulse. It stays well inside of "repetition legitimizes" rather than "sounds copy-pasted". The choir pad gets a bit muddy when it enters @ :52, but it's thankfully doesn't bury the leads or the bass - more like a warm blanket of mids. I think this one is comfortably above the bar - arrangement ties the two tracks together without sounding stapled on, mixing is handled well, and there's plenty of personalization. YES

I'm also a huge fan of getting fooled by the feel change @ 1:04, especially after the Big Stinky Bass Hit™️ @ :51. I so thought it was going to be slammin' half-time with the hat pattern against the kick drum, and then hell nah, it's at time! Would have loved a little more body on the snare drum, though what's here is not bad by any measure. Very tasteful use of delay on the leads and backing synth strings (:51 is a great example - strings hit and let the delay and verb use the space instead of making everything claustrophobic). The source usage breakdown is very much appreciated! No question from me there, definitely leans more on Morning Haze than Sculptor's Peak, but the two are woven together nicely. The arrangement has Gaspode written all over it, so there's no qualms about personalization either. Excellent mix work as well - every instrument is nicely separated and audible without being crunchy or overbearing. YES

From now on, when I tell people that playing and listening to music is supposed to be FUN, this is the track I'm going to reference. It's got everything - dynamically different sections (:00 - 1:42, 2:40 - 3:00, 4:10 - 4:40, 5:10 - end), tasteful key change for the B section introduction (1:43 - 2:10), surprise trill build to the drop(!) (2:11 - 2:15), and every lead voice gets a solo somewhere in the piece! The string elements are a big highlight for me, and the attention on the layering pays big dividends, especially around the 4:40 mark, where they take on the countermelody line behind the sax picking up the lead from the guitar. I can only imagine how amazing a live performance of this piece would be. No question about source usage here. Arrangement and production are pure fire, as established. Get back on the front page, bruh!! YES

I missed out on this one the first time, glad to be able to give it a go around on this version. Very cinematic opening with the swells. I do agree with Proph that the scalar pattern differences between the vocal and the rest of the track could fit together better, but aren't a dealbreaker. The flute has some digital artifacting on the vibrato that is distracting, notably audible @ :40, 1:02 - 1:05, and 1:23 - 1:33. Aside from the artifacts, the implementation also feels somewhat mechanical because of the tempo; the other Js have noted the stop-tongued marcato elements on both the flute and trumpet (later in the piece) sounds out of place and I have to agree. I don't think the marcato is a bad idea, per se - just that the current implementation takes more away from the piece than it adds. Lingering on the shorter notes longer could make the phrase sound more compelling without compromising the vision. The arrangement overall leans conservative, though there's enough here to work - the expanded cinematic intro and the rubato breaks (@ :59 and 1:34 - 1:43), combined with the melodic flourishes, are just enough to get over the bar for me. I think this idea has legs, but there's more work to be done to get it across the finish line. I'm aligned with my fellow NOs in that, for me to sign off on this one, I'd need to hear more organic expression from the lead instruments (flute, trumpet). NO (resubmit)

Oh yeah, this one is definitely a tough vote. Trumpet over EDM is not a combination I'm used to hearing just yet, though Tsori's performance is excellent here. @ 2:30 - 3:15 is a great example of balancing lead voices while trading parts; while I can conceive of a mix where the trumpet is always forward, the instruments trading off the spotlight is a feature for me and not a bug. The piano break @ :57 and the bass build break @ 1:56 are tactically deployed and well-handled, even if I find myself thinking that I would handle them differently. I'm with Emunator here in that I think this isn't your magnum opus, Hemo, but it's above the bar in terms of quality and arrangement on the site. Happy to continue the split on this one with another YES

Super groovy source, as expected from a Sonic OST! Not much for me to add that hasn't already been noted by Proph and Wake, unfortunately. As a bassist, I can get behind a bass-guitar-forward mix all day - as long as what the bass is doing is meant to be the focus. As it stands, the bass is in direct competition with both the Omnisphere bells and piano (:00 - :12, :12 - :38). I definitely agree that volume-wise it could be lowered several dB and still have the presence in the mix it deserves without standing on the toes of the melodic phrases. There's nothing inherently wrong with the bass using passing tones to transition chord roots, though you'll want to be careful that the harmony you're crafting between all the layers (bass, strings, piano, pad, and all the reverb and delay) is copacetic. Wake and Proph noted the dissonance/crunchiness @ :38 - :51 where the delay FX on the piano clash with the piano itself as well as the pad/string layers. You may need to automate or duck the delay during those clashing sections or remove that effect in that section. :51 - :55 is such a highlight section, and I also would love more of that feel in this piece. :55 - 1:20 would be a cool spot to continue the tonality of that gnarly distortion guitar since you're recapping the A section here. In general, when reintroducing sections from the piece, it's a good idea to vary parts of that section to keep things from feeling stale or redundant. For me to sign off on this one when it comes back, I'd need to hear: the bass guitar reduced in volume to give space to the piano, bells the clashing/unwanted dissonant notes fixed @ :38 - :51 more variety to the sections after :55 There's a lot of opportunity here to make this one feel more like AshleyXR, and you've got a good foundation established here to build on. Feel free to bring it on back to us after spending some more time with it! NO (resubmit)

Great vibe on the source track, and instantly in love with the direction this remix goes. Like Proph, I feel like the gate on the snare reverb and kick is claustrophobic in places (:01 - :17, 1:16 - 1:26, 3:06 - 3:09, 3:48 - basically the half-time feels). Automating the gate to open for longer in those spots would be 👨‍🍳 - this is a nitpick rather than a must-fix. Otherwise, the production is excellent! Great adaptation on the melodic phrases to make them more personalized - @ 2:14 - 2:46 is a personal highlight, where the A melody comes back after the drop. This is definitely above the bar for OCR to my ear. Welcome back to the front page, Mike! YES

Hell yeah, another track I can point to for properly programmed guitars! Great velocity manipulation to get the most of the palm mute rhythms, especially @ :13 - 1:08. I do think it maintains that palm mute feel a hair too long personally, but the intro is excellent. Proph mentioned the gating feeling awkward @ 1:35 - 1:39; to me, the gate is nice and tight, though I think the pickup selection on the guitars are taking away from the effect. They're very dark, which works @ 1:40 - 1:42, but that upper octave needs more bite to it. Still, excellent work here! Listening to the sources to get a grasp on this one, I wish there was a little more in the way of interpretation overall across the track. It's not that there aren't moments of personalization (the Wet as a Fish segment @ 2:24 - 3:08 in half-time, the opening of The Return of the Creature segment @ 4:41 - 4:51 are great examples), it's more that this is landing more on the side of cover rather than rearrangement to my ear. A return to one of the other themes, as suggested by Wake, would help alleviate this feeling. The transitions, even the slam ones, don't feel out of place in the style - Metallica's various medleys are the gold standard for me, and this mix walks the same line. Production-wise, this is rock solid. I have gripes with the toms in The Return of the Creature being pretty much all attack with no body to them. They almost sound pitched up to bring their attack out, which gives them a sort-of tabla/conga/hand-drum tonality that doesn't gel with the rest of the presentation. However, that's a nitpick and not a must-fix - getting toms to be phat in a mix with lower-tuned guitars and bass is troublesome to begin with, and that they're audible is good enough. Like Proph and Wake, I too would love the leads to be more forward, and I wonder if they're simply being smashed by the multiband or limiter on the mixdown? I'm finding myself also on the fence here, and I think I'm going to fall on the side of Yes - this hits more than it misses, although I wouldn't mind a second pass on bringing the leads forward and adjusting the toms. YES (borderline)

Hi Goodman! What's here is an excellent mixdown of an immaculate vibe. Nothing I'm about to write in this vote is going to alter that opinion! I agree with Liontamer that this is a much more straightforward remix of the source, where our standards look for additional rearrangement to pass the bar. Below is my stopwatch timestamps for what I feel is source usage (which the sampled audio won't count toward). With 3m:28s (208s) of runtime, I'm looking for roughly 104s of recognizable material from the source track; ideally, it's using as much meat from the source as possible. This one is relying a lot on that Intro 3-note melodic motif while never really adding in the harmony voice from the source, nor diving into the arpeggio of the A or B sections fully. Aside from the transitional tag going from the A section to B section (@ 1:48, @ 2:19, etc), there's not much else that I can directly hear as a strong enough tie. We don't typically count bass note movement or the chord progression as source usage unless they are atypical, which is not the case here. Again, the execution of this track is undeniably good and I don't doubt that it would see success outside of OCR. It just doesn't have enough juice for me to sign off on it being above the bar. NO

Heya Mel! I remember the Office Hours session with Ronald Poe when he was looking at smashing these two themes together and thinking it would be a big challenge for anyone to bring it together. The Chase doesn't feel nearly as unapproachable as Mad Luca, and taking the DnB approach with it feels meant to be here. I agree with Chimpa that moar growls and harmonic excitement would be lovely to have; what's here is a clear mixdown where the bass and kick drum are in harmony with the melodic elements. I don't feel the key change into Mad Luca @ 1:12 is all that jarring, though like Proph I would have preferred a different synth handling the serpentine melody initially - moar distortion, in other words. 😜 I also agree with Proph that the fake-out ending @ 3:29 makes the outro feel disconnected from the main body of the piece. To my ear, it sounds like it's introducing another new section rather than cueing the ending; the latter feels like the intent. If this one ends up not passing, I would have another look at that transition and see what can be done to make it feel more like a finale - move the vocal forward, start the beat back up sooner, etc. As it is, I think this is enough to pass the bar. Great job working in something as challenging as Mad Luca into this chaotic bit of fun! YES

Hi H36T! As noted by the other Js here, this is two rounds of the A-B loop of the source with 3 bars to vamp into the second repeat around 1:26. The additional instrumentation on the second repeat is a lovely add; having it arrive earlier in the piece would be better from a personalization standpoint. The strings, choral voices, winds, and piano counterpoint line are doing some heavy lifting on that front (and the chimes!), but there's still more that can be done to bring more H36T to the table. Proph mentioned adding variation in the velocities of notes for more dynamic contrast in the writing, and I agree. Given the title of the track and the direction intended in the write-up, I agree with Wake that a more subtractive approach to your sections could improve the emotional dynamic curve. I'll add that some rubato (gentle deceleration of the tempo and holding the last note/rest a little longer than the metronome) on the ending of phrases would help break the rigidity of the structure and bring more of the emotional weight to the piece. Right now, it feels locked to the grid and mechanical. For me to sign off on this, I'd need to hear more personalization to the piece, primarily in the dynamics of voices or the dynamic curve of the piece as a whole a less locked-to-the-grid/mechanical feel to the presentation NO (resubmit)

Everyone has access to it, worst case is that it requires approval from admin but we will make it happen! Also put me down for “Theme of Laura” from Silent Hill 2. I’ve got a cowpunk version of it I started up for Xaleph’s 1-hour remix roulette that deserves more attention

Hell yeah! Be sure to add it to the Events Calendar 🙌

Oh yeah, that source is killer! Haven't gotten to check out Risk of Rain 2 yet but played some hours of the first one, very enjoyable. Opens with some dark chords on the rhythm guitar and some nice groove from the kit, with the bass coming in after with some filtered delay. The feel here is a bit looser than I'd like, and the delay on the rhythm guitar and bass make some sour notes in spots (:22, :30, etc). I'm a fan of the vibe, just there's some lacking here on the mixing execution that's holding this one back. One note about the delays on the guitars and basses - all the delay choices are mono, and when there's a walking groove going on in the bass (see @ :24), the notes start to clash. Consider ducking the delay while the bass is playing, and panning the delay to the edges of the stereo field (using a ping-pong delay or automating the instrument in one speaker and the delay in the other). :28 gives us the lead guitar, which has a nice neck pickup clean tone. Love the way the chord changes @ 1:01 set up the breakbeat change @ 1:13! This breakbeat section is incredibly muddy. The rhythm guitar is all but lost - some of it is from the amp tone and some of it is from where the chords are being voiced. Consider shifting the voicing up an octave here, or double-tracking the rhythm with a higher voice and separating them with panning left and right - they are competing directly with the bass here. I noticed earlier the drum mix was pretty bright (lots of information above 12khz) and while it's serviceable in the intro, here in the breakbeat section, the kit's sibilance buries everything else. The kick, in particular, is all beater and no body - is it being swallowed up by the bass and rhythm guitar? I'm hearing similar issues in the next few sections, though I'm now hearing the rhythm guitar is slightly out of tune after the second breakbeat passage around 2:40. I like the neck tone of the lead guitar during the calmer sections, but it lacks the leading presence during the breakbeats. Bridge pickup and a different amp tone would make a big difference here, though if the drumkit's mix isn't adjusted, it'll have trouble coming through. I'm going to echo Proph and jnWake here - there are some interesting ideas here that are being held down by the mix and stringed instrument performances. For me to pass this, I'd need to hear: A tighter recording of the bass and guitars Variation on the voicings of the instruments - chords, amp tones, etc Another mix pass to cut down on drumkit sibilance and make the delay FX not mask the source instruments NO

Sheesh, that source material is like 90% A section, 10% B section. :P The opening has some evolving synths, putting the A section melody in the bass with a low-pass sweep. There are lots of small changes across the sound spectrum despite maintaining the actual A section for 2 and a half minutes - the filter sweeps, adding the ride cymbal to the drumkit, then ride bell for time-keeping, side-chain choral synth. There's an over-reliance on drum fills here, like Proph mentioned - I do hear different fills in places, but the majority of this early section uses that same tom run-down. I am a fan of slow burns, but I'm feeling like the piece is dragging hard by the time we reach the break @ 2:33. The change up to the B section here is great, though I can't help feeling like it's arriving late from a macro sense. The drums in the second act of this sound noticeably different, which is another welcome change, though they suffer from the same issue the earlier drum kit does in that these are one-shot samples that are static throughout. In a shorter piece, this would be less grating on the ear - 2 minutes for each section, and the snare sounds basically never change throughout, makes the whole groove feel plodding. @ 4:22 we get a more exploratory section that focuses on the side-chain choral element, feeling much more like another B section from the source. We add some sweet bends @ 5:05, and it trucks through into the outro and out. There are elements here that are working great - it's super easy to grok different instruments from one another even with the mix being loud, and I do really enjoy the filter sweeps and sidechain bounce! However, I'm in the same boat with jnWake and Proph - this one suffers a lot from overly long and repeated sections, which exposes the static nature of the sound palette. For me to sign off on this one, I'm going to echo Proph specifically and say: less repetitive drum fills, and a more compelling composition shorter sections would be preferable, but more interesting rhythmic or dynamic changes in each section would also work. NO (resubmit)

Coming to this one having not heard the first part of the suite from Supremo. I really enjoyed the pacing and dynamics throughout the piece. Plenty of time to sit and and just digest the music. I'm not an orchestral programming expert by any stretch, so I'm glad Proph, Hemo, and Joe can speak to how you used the samples from MuseScore. The composition overall is excellent - the rubato at the beginning, swelling into and out of sections without awkward tails or too-loud brass samples jumping out. But we've reached the elephant in the mix room, and it's the harsh cut to piano @ 7:22. I agree with Joe that it's hard to ignore, given how well everything goes up to that point. And while our standards do ask for a cleanly and clearly produced piece, I find this is still over the bar for quality. YES