The Orichalcon

Front Page updated. People with extentions have a week to get their pieces to me or they're off the project. I've started responding to a few people. Some of you will find that I've been rather harsh in my emails. I've noticed from a few of the WIP's that there's a rather large gap between the professional mixers of this project and those who mix as a hobby or are new to mixing. Please note I'm trying to be fair about this and give you all a fair go. But those of you whose tracks are less than professional will have to get them up to par or I'll be cutting you from the project from the next WIP date. Most of you have solid ideas in your mixes, you're just either missing the samples or techniques necessary to pull them off. Last thing is, I hope those of you who receive one of these direct emails are mature enough to handle it responsibly. Like I said, my goal here is to both make sure this project is of the highest quality, and also to give everyone on the project a fair go. So please take the emails at face value, rather than personally.

Today is the deadline to get your pieces in, I'm still waiting on several people, so I'm assuming that some tracks will be freed up for others to take. A couple of people have asked for a small extension for various reasons, they have an extra week to get their pieces in to me. The rest of you have today to either get your piece in, or at least let me know what's going on. I'll update the first post today, and send out confirmations for those who've submitted their WIP's.

I don't think anybody really cares which project is "leading". So if he is, it's his own time he's wasting. I doubt even he would be that redundant.

I'll be placing a new WIP list in the first post shortly. Many of you still have to get your pieces in to me. You're already past the deadline. This wasn't a "week to get it to me" deadline, it was an "I want this to all be well on it's way within a week" deadline. I thank the people who have emailed/contacted me about their pieces so far.

I like it, because it's true. Where were all the other new weapons?

The parodies are rife in this thread. Keep throwing ideas. I'll list them all and we can decide a little later.

That Romero sample is in the archive on the front page, which I used wintex to extract from the game.

Reverb overload on that background synth, not fond of that style of sound. It might sound a little nicer without such a wet sound. The drums and percussion at the back is pretty good, but the stuff in the foreground is the major problem. That lead synth is really irritating, it doesn't change a great deal throughout the song, you've done a few creative things to it, but not enough to stop it from becoming repetative and annoying. I'd really like to hearing something less abrasive there. The piano that comes in is very strongly reverbed causing a very muddy sound as Larry pointed out. The other synth effect that comes in sounds like it has a very long delay on the notes, so it's adding to the muddy sound of the mix. In general, the arrangement is probably pretty good, but the production of the mix and choice of a lead-synth is really dragging this one down. Needs a lot more work before it'll be site-worthy. NO

Gotta live up to Revolver Project's "Mother is in Control" mix when remixing this one. I'm shocked, honestly. Wasn't expecting such an upbeat and jazzy remix of such a dark piece. I'm actually glad too, since it's a completely different and refreshing spin. It's mixed pretty well too. The sample/synth used at around 1:05 sounds a little dry compared to the rest of the mix. The little tune it played actually sounded like the building music from The Sims 2. I think this could have used with a little more of a buildup throughout the mix. I'm not liking the fluttering kicks floating throughout some parts of the mix, it sounds odd and seems to be taking away from the general chillout sound of the beat. I'm getting little clicking noises throughout the mix. They're most apparent from 2:33 to 2:48. Not sure what that is, but I'd personally like it cleared up. The groove here is pretty good, but the theme gets lost after not a long time, and the mix doesn't really build beyond the first minute. I'd like to see a little more creativity with some of the instruments, and maybe hear the percussion bring in something else throughout the mix to keep things fresh. An easy resubmit. But for now, NO

Yeah, this is overlooked material for sure. Very amusing when looked at under a funny light. For a little bit of tongue-in-cheek judging. The sounds are all dry and basic. The sound effects are taped on. The lyrics are... creative... not exactly the best performance, but still funny along the lines of "Toyota Disco" (Seriously, listen to that if you feel bad about this vote, Mr. Stern. I'm pretty sure that Toyota Disco is what keeps Cher singing.) You'd get many more positive reviews and votes over at overlooked remix though for sure. This is pretty much a prime example of why that site was created, for the funny side of remixing. NO

Like the soundtrack for this game. Never heard it before, but it reminds me of something I can't put my finger on. Very nice. Mix starts off sounding quite basic. The piano sounds like it's played pretty sloppily, going out of time. Slow the mix down to record arpeggio's, then speed it back up once the notation's been recorded. The actual orchestral stuff is pretty empty. The piano sounds very fake next to the rest of the stuff in the mix. The ideas are pretty good, but the way it's arranged has some issues. You need some stronger bass instruments, and a better instrument to play the arpeggio's. Subdue them some more and bring up the melodic piano, since that's supposed to be your feature. The production is also a problem, the mix sounds flat. None of the drums sound like orchestral drums, they're too quite. The big drums are supposed to belt out a lovely reverberated community-hall sound. The cymbals need to crash so that it sounds like the world is falling apart, but everyone's ok with it. The mix ends rather abruptly too, although that's the least of your worries. I recomment having a look in the ReMixing and WIP forums for some help. You have a good idea, and the source is a very good choice for a transformation into an orchestral piece. I could see this working very well. But until then, this is a NO

Getting a Tomb Raider vibe from that opening. Very cool choice of chords. The mix does sound very messy, but after each second goes by, it all catches up to your eyes and melds together and you think "Hey, that sounds pretty good." Issues: Reverb is overused. A touch less on a few of the instruments would've made the mix clearer, and possibly more enjoyable. Mainly on the percussion and brass instruments. Other than that, pretty cool mix. I wish the reverb could be fixed up a little, but the strings really do have me won over. Comparing it to the source makes it apparent where you got your style from. Even the source is weird. But still pretty cool. I'm liking what you've done with it. YES

Unfortunately, the reverb is a mixed blessing for the mix. He tried it with less reverb, then no reverb, and the YES's and NO's switched sides. I'm thinking it comes down to personal taste. I personally feel that the arrangement here more than compensates for this silly "too much reverb/not enough reverb" fiasco. Sure the mix has production problems. But it's a really cool mix, combining four themes from Jurassic Park and being played really well by a live musician. Koelsch has a good talent with his saxaphone, and once he gets his mastering down, I have no doubt he'll go far. I think this is the start of that distance. Much like the last few times, my vote is YES. And I think we need to stop the nitpicking and actually listen to the mix.

Strings sounds subdued, the reverb on them sounds a little beginnerish. I'd be happy if it was a little more upfront. The vocals I can't really make out, not sure if they're really adding anything to the mix there. When we get into the trance of the piece, it sounds pretty good, but there's still the feeling that we're not getting the full force of the piece, like the EQ is a little flat for the genre, or perhaps like the whole thing is lying under a layer of reverb which is killing the sound of the mix. I'd like everything here to be sharper, and the bass to be punchier. With my uneducated technical issues behind, the arrangement is another thing. Very enjoyable, yet rather generic trance. It all fits together fairly well, but as Larry said it's quite conservative, could probably use some more defining synths and mixing. Not necessarily any risky sequencing, just need to "wow" the listener with some cool sounds, which is pretty much what trance is all about. at 3:01, this felt way too short. I'd like to see it lengthened and many more ideas pounded into the mix like eggs in a cake. NO

Can't dislike this. The recording isn't the best, the playing is a little questionable at times. But the charm is all there. Musically, I can't fault this. It's fun to listen to, nothing really stands out as an issue to listen to. In the arrangement sense, I have no issues with what we have here. It's similar in style to the original, but upgrading from the basic nsf sound to the bouncy string guitar sound we have here is not simply a matter of note-for-note. There are a lot of holes to fill. To learn those holes and then execute it as well as it has been here, I think deserves a spot on the site. YES. Absolutely awesome.

Very awesome intro. I wish those snare hits were a bit more industrialised, but what can you do. I'm in strong agreeance with Larry and JJT on this one. The guitar is the deciding factor on this one. It sounds very fake and is a major standout issue from 1:30-2:00 in particular. I wouldn't feel comfortable passing this if that could be easily fixed up, or recorded properly. In regards to the rest of the mix. The general sound is very dirty, lots of use of distortion effects. It's all done fairly well. I'm not personally fond of such a sound, but it does work for the context of the mix. The arrangement is good, though I'd personally like to hear a little more bass-end grunge if you manage to find a real guitarist. I'm gonna follow Larry's lead here and strongly request from the mixer that the guitar is either changed to sound more realistic, or better yet a real guitarist performs that part for him. It would be instant pass at that point if done well. NO (Resubmit)

The panning in this piece can be odd at times, I'm willing to give that a pass-over though, since a lot of songs in this style make heavywork of panning. I'm with Vig on this one. The piece is nice and smooth, everything seems to be balanced perfectly. It's not simply a tacked together piece from NES sounds. Clearly, precise and careful attention has been payed to each detail in the mix, what with the accompanying grungey sounds and fleeting background synths. My one gripe with the piece is that it's so short. It builds up a nice, dare I say it, chill-out atmosphere which could go on for 5 minutes or so, but stops at just over 3:16. Felt way too short to me. However, not enough of a problem to stop me from passing this. YES Edit: After a couple more listens. I'd be stronger on that yes if the panning of the synth was more centralised, or at least balanced a little better.

I am feeling the mix. Once you turn off all the lights, and put on your headphones, you get the aura and the essence of the mix. My main concern is that even for ambience, the mix is very empty. Not introducing much as it goes along. The different instruments that come in don't really fade together properly, which ends up sounding all muddled. With some stronger backing, it might be a little better. I dunno who this Terrence McKenna is, nor what it has to do with the game, so I won't comment there. I will say that the sample around 2:40 sounds out of place. It worked as an introduction to the piece, but not in the middle. From 3:00, I'm confused how this is anything beyond a heartbeat and an ambient effect. Some parts sound nice, but I don't think it's anywhere near strong enough to be considered just yet. The overall sound is very nice, relaxing, but the parts with the percussion just need to be backed up a little more clearly with the melody, and the second half needs more direction and definement. At the risk of being locked in a cabinet with the other smoking monkeys, I'll vote NO on this for now.

WAD utility? As in something that plays them? Edits them? Makes them? For playing, I recommend jDoom (or Doomsday): http://www.doomsdayhq.com/ For Editing, I recommend Wintex: http://www.gamers.org/addons/utils/deutex/ For Making, I recommend Doom Builder: http://www.doombuilder.com -------------- Beyond that, we need to organise a name for the project. Since some of the music in both Doom and Doom 2 is derived from Rock Songs by other bands. I'm thinking it might be nice to make a compromise name that honours that slightly underhanded contribution to the doom universe. Doom 2 is known as "Hell on Earth", one of the original songs is known as "South of Heaven" by Slayer. So I'm thinking something along the lines of "North of Hell" might be fitting. Feel free to discuss or throw some other ideas out there.

Just a bump to let you guys know I'm back in the swing of things. And a reminder to get your butts in order for the next WIP deadline. I'll send an email out either tomorrow or wednesday for it.

reelmojo is the last person who would complain about being stingy on giving out shirts as competition prizes.

This sounds so empty and poorly balanced. It started off all right. But the drums are too far up front, the rest is pushed into the back, mostly the guitar. The singing in this mix and the way it's mixed in sends chills down my spine, when the song gets into it, it's really good. You need to fix up the production with this one. Bring the lyrics up to listenable level, but not so they're overbearing. It takes a bit of tweaking and sometimes a second ear to make sure. Get rid of the fake guitar and record it properly. Resubmit this one definately, run it by a few of the judges before resubbing if you're unsure. It's basically just the levels and that guitar that really needs fixing up. Nice effort. NO

I can agree that the drums sound all right in the context of the song. They just sound very standard here. I think the song could've benefitted from something more powerful and clear, rather than the standard soundfont sets. In terms of performance, arrangement and production, this is no worse or better than Darangen's last mix. It's performed well, the guitar is enjoyable to listen to. The drums, as said, leave something to be desired, but they're just a background part of the mix. My other issue is that the background of the mix felt a little empty. The bass could have been a little beefier, and the rhythm guitar perhaps a little grungier for my tastes. Other than that, an enjoyable mix and arrangement. YES

This is closer to being like Mazedude's Oldskool Demon piece than the Figaro one. This is typical mazedude, taking older sound effects and making a good modern use of them. This isn't limited in the same way that Shna's chiptune was as Darke pointed out. The intro to the mix is the perfect example of what Mazedude is all about in the end. Take a listen to Oldskool Demon and then this one, it's the same general idea of taking oldschool sounds, and utilising them in a modern way. I think it's very cool. That being said, this mix suffers in other areas for me. I agree with Larry that the 1:27-2:10 section was quieter than the rest of the mix. The problem there and beyond is that the low-quality percussion doesn't really fit in with the rest of the piece. It's too quiet in that section, and then evolves into something that's too loud for the rest. This is the one area I feel where the piece would have benefitted from moving beyond the low-quality samples, since I know Mazedude is more than capable of producing good sounding drums. I also felt the last minute or so didn't really introduce anything interesting or uniquely new to the mix. The baseline stays the same right the way to the end and, dare I say, becomes irritating. The synthwork didn't keep up it's interesting uniqueness as it did in the first minute and a half unfortunately. I think the idea behind the mix is all right. It doesn't fall into the whole "Limited/Chiptune" category for me, as I can see Mazedude's speciality in utilising these sounds outside their limits. However, I feel the mix could better utilise the sounds, particularly the percussion/drums. I also felt that the sound being used for the bassline in this could stand to be changed up at some places to get rid of the monotony of it. Other than that, I think this passes our standards, just barely. I could easily seeing this being improved upon by Mazedude, given the chance. However, I'll let Dave make the hard decision here on whether or not to post this one, or even allow a resubmit. YES

I'll be away for the next few weeks starting tomorrow. Larry (Liontamer) will be keeping an eye on the thread and the project for the meantime if any of you need any help.