Hemophiliac

Small textural sources with very little melodic content always feel like they would be a challenge to arrange to me. I'm always pleasantly surprised when artists take them and get so much development and growth from them. It's a testament to your creativity to get so much here. Kudo's on the expansive development and growth throughout while keeping us tethered to the ambience and the 3-note motif from the original. The bass is softer then I would expect from Chimpazilla, but it's still supportive and present. Just lacking some fullness that could fill the soundscape even more. The jungle/breakbeats are handled well, and fit the rest of the ambient textures very nicely. The morph into the closing section at 3:48 is handled nicely, but it's strange to suddenly have a much more rigid rhythmic structure when it felt more fluid and organic earlier on. That's not a knock at all on the overall success of the track because in the end it's a nice listen and once again an improvement on a strange and minimal source tune. YES

Wow, I was not expecting a dark and heavy take from a light and airy source. I might be hearing the chords from the source to start out with but they are so thick and heavy that I can't tell for sure what they are playing and if it is the same progression as the source. With all the heavy chugging going on I can not hear the kick, I just barely make it out. The mids have been heavily scooped out around 400Hz as Chimpazilla has pointed out. I know removing some mids from the guitars is common practice, but here I think it is a detriment here. It's caused the mix to feel both very bottom heavy and have a very hot top end at the same time. The real problem is I'm barely making out a connection to the source. I mentioned the chords earlier, but it's hard to really connect a source by it's chords. It would have been helpful to have at least one less interpreted or modified version of the melodic content from the source to help the listener make more connection to it. I can see how they could be possibly be connected, but between the rhythm, accenting, and deemphasizing certain melody notes from the original is such a strong element, that it's very hard to connect the notes without some of that included here. I think the slides in the synth were a nice touch and the overall concept of going from bright and airy to dark and heavy was a great idea and could absolutely pay off, but the execution; both in production and presenting the source needs to be much stronger. NO

Sweet huge guitars! Fantastically MASSIVE double tracked guitars. As was said previously, this is structurally conservative. However, the usage of multiple sources and solos are great at making this your own interpretation. This definitely could have had more of your own flavors and spices on this, but to me there's just enough arrangement to put this over the bar. The production is clean and all the parts are coming through cleanly. The 2:11-2:14 stutter transition was great. The transition at 3:27 could have been smoother, but that's like asking for a hot beverage to be even hotter somehow. Again, very excellent and tasteful solos from both guitar and keytar. This brings the axes to the party and everyone has a great time. YES

I too have not got far enough in the game to have heard it in context, but with the imagery described this sounds awesome. It's so cool to hear something that is so very OA and Emunator at the same time. There is so much wonder, peacefulness, and romance in this track. This is a total slow-burn build up of dynamics and energy throughout. Slowly reaching it's peak late in the track. Not much to say here, except the execution was great and this is a slam dunk. YES

I'm immediately grabbed by this as it's immediately recognizable (I've been playing the game for the last few years). That "suspense" theme is really cool and i'm glad you gave it a very recognizable opening on the guitar here, played very well by Zack. Once we get into the electronic portion it's full-force what I would expect from Xaleph. It's his signature bass and it's always so dang good. Production is fantastic and on point. Vocal harmony during "The Climb" (1:09-1:11 and during the next phrase) was a nice touch and I liked that. There could be more enunciation in the diction but I think it's fine with this style of piece. Good pitch! At 2:54 I'm hearing a return to "Suspense" theme, but with a Xaleph spin on it, great interpretation. Big fan of acoustic elements interplaying with synth and this was a great example of them working together to create something awesome. YES

This source is right in your wheelhouse. I do enjoy your proggy-esque work. Source usage is not a problem here at all, lots of interpretation and riffing on those wild Follin lines. I like how at 1:59 you emulated the opening from the source some with the doubling of the chip lines with slightly different voices. I do agree with Liontamer that the leads are a little forward in the mix and more dry then the background elements. That can be easily remedied with varying up the wet/dry levels on the reverb to push it forward/back (And maybe -1db less in the volume mix, not much). Not a problem for me though, as that only made it slightly off of perfection. Great work. "Awesome, wild, and crazy". That's your Pictionary hint for guessing at this: YES

When I listen through this, I can think of one word that describes the arrangement and performances. Restraint. There is so much restraint demonstrated here. Things don't fly off the rails and get crazy, the mellow-but-upbeat vibe remains throughout. At any moment, the soloing or direction could have gone crazy, but it stays within a nice range. Kudos for keeping the vibe intact even in the solos. That all probably sounds weird to say, but I mean it as a compliment. Usually when I would go to the jazz lounge I would always hear the performers want to show-off rather then keep it within the vibe of the song. Semi-typical jazz form here, with head-solos-head. Energy level picks up with the final recap too. Love the tone of the guitar, not sure but sounds like a hollow body (and I don't feel like I hear much in VGM) which is where my preference lies in the genre. All of the performances in this are stellar, and the mixdown is fantastic. Everything blending very well and leads stand out in front when they are featured. Absolutely YES

I did not hear the previous version so I'm coming in clean to this. There's a lot of good stuff going on it here, however; there are some things holding it back. The reverse guitar or mandolin as an intro was very cool. All of the background additions such as the piano and the arps are the real strengths of the piece. These additions really make it your own! The vibe is so cool and really drips of loving nostalgia. What is the biggest problem is the distortion, and it's prevalent throughout. Wither it's intentional or unintentional it's too much. Some of it is giving a lovely warmth to the track and gives a feeling of nostalgia, but there is too much and it's making it feel blown out. I'm not saying remove it, but rather reduce the amounts of distortion so it's not completely saturated with it. The low end is very muddy and is also contributing to the heavy distortion too. The boominess of the kick/bass just keeps smashing in more when it the track can only fit so much. More exaggerated humanization in the piano would also help to add to the nostalgia-vibe that you seem to be going for. As right now it's fairly blocky and the velocities are very similar from note-to-note aside from the rolls. Later on the track does have some meandering and noodling about, but this was not a breaking-point for me. This really has a lot of awesome potential, and right now it's close but it needs at least another look to deal with the wash of distortion. NO (resubmit)

This is great, the vocals are given all the spotlight. Meanwhile, the supporting structure around it them are very present without over-taking the vocals. Aside from the strong vocal performance, the subtle background stuff are the highlights for me. The opening background organ, the mallet-like synth at 0:41, and the piano counterpoint at the end of the track are all so perfect and well fitting. As if they were always meant to be the way they are. Sometimes I hear arrangements that feel like major improvements on their sources, this is an example of such. It goes so many more places then the original by changing leads around and adding vocals and original lyrics. People might not be familiar with the source, but boy is this will stand alone just as a good track by itself. The only thing that threw me for a brief moment was the early key change at 1:12. It didn't seem like you had said everything in that first key before departing. Modulation to the new key wasn't jarring, I just wasn't expecting that sort of color change so early. In the end, any change to prevent stagnation is a good thing and I think that it works. Very strong work from the both of you Kris and Aaron. YES

This is great. Tons of personalization everywhere all while still keeping the source front and center and easily recognizable. Speaking of the source, it's all kinds of crazy...in a good way. Tons going on and themes weaving in and out of each other. The production is clean and clear throughout as well, great job not letting the piano get buried any time it shows up. I particularly liked how the intro from the source plays into your intro as well. Great contrast between the full sound and guitars vs. the small chippy-synths. If I were to have one gripe with this (and it's not even really a gripe), it's that most sections end and go to another one without much transition. More overlap of parts could make them smoother, but as is now; it's not even jarring or flow-breaking. They are just changes, and as any good song does; they come at the right times. Easy YES

This is a really cool source, melancholic, dark, and contemplative. Very interesting concept to go from that to darksynth/synthwave. I have to applaud the mood because that was nailed, very cool. To date this is one of your best produced tracks Lucas. Kicks are clear, the bass doesn't step on them, and those big synth stabs are super cool. I'm really struggling to connect the the source to the arrangement much, even with the breakdown and many listens on my own without it. I too also got bits and pieces but they don't feel like they are the dominant focus. I agree with prophetik in that a chord progression is difficult to say, "oh that's what I remember from that source". Generally that's not what a listener latches onto. Unfortunately more dominant and identifiable source would be needed for me to give this a pass. It's a bummer, Lucas; because it's a really awesome track and is one of your best produced to date. NO

This has a very interesting meditative quality that I could find myself zoning out to. That is up until it turns into a full band sound later on in the track. Once we get there it's letting all of it's repressed energy out! I quite enjoy the drone and the long build up of energy through the piece. The arrangement is lovely, and Snowman/In Winters is represented plenty once we get to it in the glockenspiel at 0:46. When we get to 3:23 and the drums really show us their true colors, everything gets very overblown and squashed by compression. Lightening the compression would have prevented the overblown sound, but still kept the energy going. The pattern that was wrote for them could add more energy by itself without having to compromise the mixdown. That's also due to the fact that the drum part was much sparser until then. With that said, the moment is fairly brief and does not take away from my enjoyment of the track. If the whole track was like that I don't think I could pass it, but it's brief. Slow burn, cool track man. YES

I have to say I feel like you improved on the original of Link Between Worlds "Ice Ruins". The original has a very grating and super bright quality to it, and you've removed that and created mystery instead of a harsh chill. "Lake Hylia" from Twilight Princess has been warmed up with lower-range violins and violas, and high-range cellos. Weaving between each different source is done very well as they are meshed in a way to really cover their transitions. The percussion really helps with that as well. Two technical issues that bother me here are the wide panning of instruments and the close positioning of the percussion. In an orchestral context, the percussion is positioned in the back unless there is a featured percussion performer or a featured part of the piece. In this case, they are playing a rhythm and support role so it doesn't feel close to the listener. Varying the amount of wet/dry on the reverb for them can help to push them forward or back. As prophetik also mentioned, there's hardly any dynamic contrast or much change in the chiaroscuro of soft and strong. In such a long piece, it would really help to keep the piece progressing and moving with more changes in dynamic. Arrangement is great, but I find myself left wanting greater emotion and more things expressed other then "mystical" and "mystery". YES

This is the kind of track that is produced so well, that it makes you want to turn up the volume. This is prime example of anti-loudness war in a modern genre. Kudos on that front. Spoopyhop? Trippyhaunt? I dunno what to call it, but it's all kinds of good. Arrangement is fantastic and dripping in personalization and creative ear candy. My personal highlight of the arrangement is the background arp that kicks in 1:48 during the B section of the original source. Auto-panning this makes it like a ghost that is sneaking back and forth going playing tricks on you. What more can I say, this is great. YES

Absolutely love this, incredible performances. Hollow was one of my favorite parts of Remake and it fit in so well. Structurally very close to Hollow and feels very conservative because of that, but after multiple listens I started picking up the very subtle nods to the other tracks (Prelude and Dear to the Heart). That's just due to the nature of harp inside of a rock/metal tune that's more full and heavy. The countermelody writing is excellent, and fits in so subtle that it lets multiple listens have huge repeat value. I'll definitely be listening to this one again and again. Fantastic lock-in on the vocal harmony, almost too perfect. If you used pitch correction at all, I'd say you could probably even lighten it some to keep a little bit of rawness in there. Amazing! YES

There's a lot to like here, and I'm so glad you worked on this as much as you did over the last...I dunno...year? I remember how close the sound design was to feeling like an upgraded version of the Sega chip. With that said, the sound design here is so cool. FM-grit mixed with industrial sound effects and a constant beat. Hydraulic Beat is a fitting name. I have to echo what Chimpazilla said about the drums, they really need more variation throughout. Patterns and fills both changing up slightly go a long way to making a track move forward without feeling repetitive. I'd also like to echo what was being said about the sub-bass content. You have got to roll off those lows completely. The real highlights are the textural changes throughout the piece, they carry the arrangement. YES

I loved this arrangement from the first version you showed me when it was randomly started up during Magfest in Jan. The whole idea worked out great, because the total concept is awesome. It's really awesome to have heard your arrangements mature and develop so much in the last few years. Unfortunately the execution of the production and programming of the parts are holding this back. Now, I'm not saying everything in here is bad because there's some really cool little details that I did notice that do help with the realism. For example, triggering and using vibrato in the longer notes in the guitar, and sliding into notes. Those definitely help to give a human and realistic feel. I'm not getting the sense that the parts are blending together in the mix, they feel like they are separate elements that happen to be playing the track. Some in the same room, others maybe in another venue entirely. The kick also has a very round bassy tone in this as well that makes it hard to make out in the mix too. Prophetik said this as well, and I really want to emphasize that you do not need live instruments to pass, but even just getting the guitars live here would go so far in helping with everything on this. Again, arrangement and vibe is incredible but I can't pass this in the current state with the mixing and realism being rough. NO (resubmit!)

Quite enjoyed the loose and raw quality of this. The slightly slower tempo is giving me more sultry vibes then whimsy that the original has. GotW shines as always. Getting the blown air in there, sounds lovely in a rainstorm of winds. I have to also echo what Prophetik said about bringing in the original Legend of Zelda theme, I was not expecting it but it was a good break from the rest of Kass's Theme and added melodic variation when it was needed. Great interpretation and lovely work pushing the source even further then what I come to expect from Rebecca. Walked that balancing act very well. YES

I really hope this doesn't come off as offensive in any way, but the best way I can describe this is silly but fun. The audio clips throughout enhance rather then detract from the piece. I will say, that last one is Game of Thrones, and I will not forget the Hound wanting his chickens. I felt like Captain America in the Avengers when I heard that, "I understood that reference". The beat is great and carries the piece. I found the layering of the low piano notes into the bass worked very well. When we do get to 1:45 it is more distinct from the first time through with a slightly different synth setup, and more accented kicks. I would like to see more melodic embellishment during your recapitulations as has been an issue with previous works, but there's enough here that it didn't become an issue with me. For future works, make sure you're putting a master limiter on because your max is +0.6, and there is clipping. Not hearing any distortion because of it, so it's a non-factor. Is this what we get if you somehow managed to kill a cucco in Zelda? You get Zombie Chicken? YES

There's amazing restraint and contrast in this piece. If more metal was like this I'd listen to it on a regular basis. When everything is heavy, nothing is. So giving a great contrast between heavy and more ambient contrasting sections really allows this to develop and creates weight with the heavy sections. 3:14 feels like the section caught the compressor and got squashed some. The distortion on the lead vocals here is interesting. With everything being full-out here it causes the vocals to be buried some and the distortion on them makes it even tougher to understand what's being said. I don't have a huge issue with it because it's done for effect, and goes by pretty quickly. I personally would have preferred a clearer vocal in the mix, but that does not sway my vote because it is sung well. All of the drones are very cool, and the cello line fits in very well with the rest of the textures too. For me it came down to usage of source, and it took me many listens to familiarize myself because it's a longer source, but it's there plenty within the arrangement. Also 5:28, I love the close and crunchy vocal harmony. YES

I'm the type who likes vanilla ice cream, and this is about as vanilla as synthwave you can get. Enjoyable and you know what to expect. It ticks all the boxes for it, side-chained bass, playing a fairly static-straightforward rhythm. Simple beat accenting 2 and 4 with the snares. Swirling, slightly detuned pads (thankfully not nearly as much as the Diablo track). Even though those things are typical, they work well together. The source melody is represented faithfully with a conservative approach. I like the sound design on the pads because while they are similar in timbre to the original, they are fuller, have more modulation + expression on them, and are more featured in the arrangement. My gripe here would be to reduce the side-chaining to allow it to be more transparent in it's effect. This doesn't go too far in it's usage as it doesn't become pumping or in-you-face with how heavily it attenuates the bass on each kick. YES

Surprised this doesn't have more votes yet. Man, this is a fun throwback. And it's weird to call this a throwback, simply because it's "tracker-style". Chris is so good with trackers and the arrangement is fantastic. 1:08 was a great time to change things up (including key) and take a different direction for a while. Good break from the semi-chaos of the original here. The flying bass runs are awesome, and really embellish the original very well. No complaints from me. Easy, YES

Fantastic live performances all around. Interpretation is superb with much development on small ideas from the original. Only way this could have been spicier would have been to change up the time signature more and go proggy. The off beat accents do a good job of playing with rhythm expectations enough that it feels that way anyways. I guess keeping this one more tame without crazy time sig changes makes this more accessible to listen to. Great work! YES

So I actually think the Environmental Mystery part is actually playing as a fast piano ostinato throughout most of the track. It's just buried under all of the guitar/bass/drum chaos all on top of it. Piano/synth just doesn't cut as hard or as powerfully as any of those other parts. Can't hear the kick very much unless it's double pedaling between other notes or during the intro where there is less going on. Actually the splash/china/crash are just so much louder then the rest of the kit, that kick really needs to come through more especially in this genre. 0:55-1:10 is also just chaos and I have no idea what I'm supposed to focus on there as a listener, but you whip (with a whip sound?) us out of it back to sanity. This just barely squeaks by for me, and I feel like I'm in the same boat as Chimpazilla on this one. The mixdown certainly has problems, but the arrangement is tremendous. Also need to highlight the awesome performances from pixelseph and Cyril. The arrangement is good enough to pass despite some flaws in production. YES

Dark, creepy, mysterious and an atmosphere that can put you into a trance while listening. Loved the reversed choir as an intro and outro, it's a unique sound for sure. Production is awesome, and sound design is very lush from top to bottom. The Labyrinth (Depths) is there almost the whole way through, hard to miss it. You really did a fantastic job of adding to something so minimal and keep it familiar and in the forefront of the track. Excellent work. YES