The Orichalcon

Everyone knows that powerchords = satan. The writer was just using the most synonymous term available.

Pity they chose a picture of Doom 3 rather than Ultima Doom. But it's still good to get some positive public coverage.

Straight away this mix sounds flat and dull. The marching beat in the background is so subdued that I'm wondering why it's even there, it doesn't keep the beat, it just distracts from the other instruments until the bass comes in at 0:58. As different melodies come in, it's apparent that things are transitioning well, although that's not an arduous task with Zelda from what I've heard before. The piano that comes in is really flat, dry and subdued, much like the rest of the instruments in this mix. There isn't much else to say. The arrangement is all right in itself, it's just rather bland to listen to given how subdued and basic everything is. I disagree with Larry about the strings at 3:47, as I feel the dissonance was necessary with the style of the piece. They resolve eventually as they play along, only going out of key at appropriate times. I felt the mix from 4:24 was making it sound a lot better than it was in the beginning, the tone gradually shifted which was a surprise. I'd say go back and rework on the sound of this. Try to give the drumming in the background a less repetative sound. I know it's a marching style beat, but it doesn't need to be the same thing over and over. Make your instruments sound more lively, less bland and this could be a good medley here. NO

I'm loving the intro here. A single note bassline with rain effects and a creepy sounding synth playing along as the lead. My issues here are with the bassline, which while it works in the background, each note has a little jab at the beginning which can be done away with by cutting off the higher frequencies. The creepy synth needs just a teensy bit of reverb or delay on it, maybe some EQ or compression to give it a more powerful and creepy sound. It's definately the right choice, it just needs to be utilised better. When the beats kick in at 1:12 we have some pretty good sounding stuff, although things are unfortunately sounding a little too flat, I feel it could be brought out a bit more in the higher frequencies, giving it a crisper feel. The lead is dry and basic, that could easily be sounding better with some more creative effects usage. The creepy synths come back in around 2:40 and they work really well with the background beats and overall sound. But as said the production here is really flattening a potentially good sounding piece. The arrangement in itself is pretty basic. Things repeat themselves often. The beats and bassline just plod along continuously with the occasional break, but just come straight back. My suggestion would be to cut the length of the mix down to 3-4 minutes. 6:36 is just too much when you don't change things up enough. Playing around with the melody from the original a bit more, giving it different spins all the way through would keep things fresh and entertaining until the song ends. Given that you made this 5 years ago, I'm not sure how easy it would be for you to go back and give this track a complete makeover to utilise the instruments better. You have a pretty solid sounding track here that just needs to be given a proper shine-up. If you could, definately take this one back and work on it some more and you could have a winner here. NO

Right away I get clipping on the piano. The sound of the piano is very flat and loud, it could be mastered much better. Then when the chords kick in, they sound so mechanical, especially when compared to the melody playing over it, which is played quite sloppily. The actual rhythm and melody is pretty good, but the sound quality is just so basic and sloppy, it needs to be addressed. The drums are a main issue here, they're so dry and basic, and it's as plain as the mole on my face. The fire sound effect that comes in around 1:45 is low quality and just makes the track sound like it's clipping rather than adding atmosphere, I'd recommend just scrapping that unless you can make it work a lot better. The sax is pretty cool, along with the organ in the background. The mix has a pretty good atmosphere to it when it comes to the arrangement, you just need to address these sound issues. NO

The sustain pedal's certainly been well used here. It has a clear concert sound to it, never really leaping into any fast and amazingly complex piano structures. Instead it keeps this atmospheric and deep, dark sound to it most of the way through. The buildup to the loudest section at 2:15 was very nice, if not a little overbearing. But the chord progression choices there are very pleasing to the ear. The arrangement is fine. The original had a Medievil sound to it, and I'm pretty sure it's the same composer for the two games. The switch in styles is done remarkably well. I wouldn't expect the source to lend itself to such a gentle sounding remix, however it's turned out quite well. I have my nitpicks with the way the piano sounds at times, however I can't really see it being improved upon, and it's good enough the way it is. YES

Source: http://www.doomworld.com/music/d_victor.mid - Victory Music Having heard earlier versions of this, I found myself more fond of featuring "Pex" as his voice sounded harmonic. However Elsa does a good job in singing in this remix. The production of the mix is quite good. Everything is balanced well and the instruments have a reverb to them that gives off that dark sound that this mix sets out to achieve successfully. The singing in this is the highlight, as Elsa strongs sings the doom-related lyrics to the melody line of the Victory theme. The backwards effect on the vocals gives it a very creepy and doomy sound. The singing leads into a heavy rock guitar section done entirely with fake guitars. The grunge rhythm guitar sounds pretty damn good to me, however the lead sound a little too fake for my tastes. It still works well though. The major problem here is that the guitar follows the theme from the source note for note with almost no reinterpretation at all. That's the major problem throughout the mix in that while it's very creative in the singing and the production, it's very sparse on creativity in the arrangement. However, I feel that the lyrics, the vocals and the production more than make up for the closeness to the source in this case. It's not a cover in the sense that it's a different take on the style of the original (I hear no singing in the original.) The buildup from the piano to the guitar section in this is done well too, and there are no glaring issues other than a questionable distortion of the vocals on the last line "I'm from hell and DOOM I'M BRINGING." Still enjoyable, and no real reason why it shouldn't be a part of the site. YES

Am I the only one who can understand Rexy? Bloody Yanks. I'm not a god damn yank. You're an Aussie and you've never heard of Perth, West Australia?

If this is to be rejected, then I'd like to add my request that mazedude does resubmit this at some point in the future with the fixes.

This is pretty cool stuff. It all melds together nicely to give a nice powerful sound. It starts off with a questionable sounding piano to me. But then all dance piano's sound fake to me. The mix builds up pretty well into a powerful sounding dance section from about 1:16. My problem with this mix is that it stays the same for pretty much the entire 5:40. Nothing jumps out to grab your attention, there are no dramatic switch ups break sections. The volume of the pieces stays along this flat line that never shifts to grab your attention. Everything is pretty much the same all the way through. This suits well as a dance mix and nothing is really bad. But I don't think it needs to be 5:40. You could halve the length of the mix and it would still be too much. The percussion in the mix is kind of bland and doesn't offer any changes at all. the kick is dull, the snare is quiet and sits in the background of the the entire mix, along with the hats. That really needs to change up and become more powerful in the meatier sections of the mix. Overall, there's nothing wrong with the sound so to speak, it just becomes repetative and bland as the mix goes on, as it offers nothing new. Work on quality over quantity in this case. You need to refine the mix so it's not so long and so the sections that you have stand out and don't all sound the same. NO

Thanks for providing the source. Takes a while for this mix to get into it. We get car and police sound effects over a bassline up until 0:45. Then the drums come in along the bassline. Some fake rhythm guitar comes in around 1:00 but this sounds pretty good, at least until the long notes are held. Sounds like some volume tweaking on the notes or even some effects to get rid of that dry sound would have been beneficial. The melody plays along for a while sounding like a fairly dry organ, it sounds out of place to me and really bland. The rhythm guitar keeps plodding along by itself with the drums up until 2:47 when the bassline takes over. The raw wave that comes in around 3:20 sounds pretty good. The song builds up into a really meaty section from 4:00 where the drum work sounds pretty good. The fake guitar is killing this mix for me though. It would be beneficial for the mix if the artist sought out a guitarist to do this guitarwork properly for the mix. You'd have a relatively good mix here. I could see some vocals over this too instead of the whiney organ-sounding lead used currently. The mix also drags on too long, nearly reaching 6 minutes without presenting too many new ideas. Overall, it's not a bad mix, especially for a first submission. The drumwork is a great basis for the mix, and you have a good sound going, you just need to ditch the fake and basic sounding samples and try to get some beefier and more realistic sounds going. NO

As already mentioned, this track is awfully loud. Needs some better mastering to be more subtle than this. The drums are a bit too abrupt for me, Some longer samples would fit well rather than these quick stabby ones. As for the lyrics. Just listening through without reading anything, they sound out of place to me. Out of tune in areas. With some better mastering on the track, they might sound a bit more in place. Personally, I think this just feels a little too empty, like it needs some heavier instruments to go with the drums and acoustic guitar. Work on balancing this stuff out better and this would probably be a yes, as mentioned. NO

This started off sounding pretty cool. The percussion sounds spot on nice. The strumming fits in well. Most of the instruments sound like they're a pretty good quality, except for the guitar and sax. You have a nice break section after 2:00 with some pretty atmospheric "desert" sounds and woodwind. It builds back up nicely after 2:30 into some powerful drum areas. The problem with this is that it sounds a bit too empty in the melody section. The instruments you have playing the melody (Strings, Oboe) work well, but they need something else to come out and grab the attention of the listener. It sounds like you have a great basis for the mix, it just needs more work to be more pleasing to listen to. NO

It's white noise. It didn't turn out too well I know. But the file I was working on corrupted and I couldn't fix it. Was that unintentional? I liked that. Thought it fit the transition well. It was intentional, but it didn't turn out too well. I wanted to make it better or just get rid of it, but the file corrupted.

fixed.

Source: http://www.zophar.net/psf/FF7_psf.rar 121 Red XIII's Theme, 301 Cosmo Canyon Well the power of the beginning is pretty good. The drums are nice and powerful, however they don't offer much of a changeup through the mix. In fact, they don't offer any change up at all. The guitar sounds all right, though it's a little too over reverbed for me. The problem here is that this is pretty much just a cover. Note for note all the way until the end with very little reinterpretation of the theme. It goes for 1:54 which is not long enough, even for a cover mix. The drums offer no change, and the only thing playing the melody is the guitar rhythm and lead, with a single synth note being held down at the end. While this might be a fun tune to play on your guitar for your friends, it's not nearly enough to warrant a place on OCR. NO OVERRIDE

Source: http://www.zophar.net/psf/Biohazard2.rar 11 - Secure Place The percussion and drumwork in this mix is really basic. You need to work on making that sound a lot better, really. The actual atmosphere in the mix is pretty nice. But the mix does remain fairly basic all the way through. The piano has a nice sound to it, but it sound kind of.. tinny. Like it's been EQ'ed so the mids are too strong. It's all right as a backing, but since the whole mix is pretty much based around this piano, it just sounds a bit too fake, could be more prominent to give the mix a more powerfully realistic sound. But to be honest, I don't think this mix does anything beyond what the original offers. It's the same style with the same sound, and the piano doesn't offer a great deal of creative reinterpretation. It just sounds like an extention of the source. NO

The way this mix starts is really quite promising. But the laid back and basic atmosphere set up from the beginning lasts too long. When the extra percussion kicks in at 1:10, you really needed to beef it up from there. Bring in some thicker strings and a bassline, rather than continuing the thing and atmospheric sound of the beginning. I'm not so caught up on the woodwind sample. I think it sounds all right, but it definately would be complimented a little more with some proper backing to it. The mix is just missing the power of a proper buildup. The percussion stays the same pretty much all the way through, you need to switch it up to some proper drumwork. The bell sample that comes in at 2:56 is just plain awful, please scrap it. Overall it's definately not a bad sound here. I think you have a good basis for a mix, but it needs work. Consider beefing the mix up at 1:10 as I suggested, and try playing with the melody a bit more to give it an extra edge in the arrangement. 2:56 would be a perfect place for a switchup in the pace and power of the mix to give it the peak that it needs. NO

The source choices were fairly well selected. After listening through them both, they do link together relatively well and sound like they're based off the same theme. This mix is really suffering from poor sample choice. Right off the bat we have a rather dry organ sample playing the rhythm melody from the two sources. Some dry percussion is introduced at 0:27. The mix jumps into the meat at 0:47 and immediately we're hit with a dry and rather bad sounding electric guitar sample. The drums are sounding dry and really need to be mastered better. The kick is way too punchy and floods the low end of the mix, while the snare is flat and dry. From 1:29 this mix gets really bland. The bass is pretty basic but good, and that's all there really is, with a few hi-hat hits tapping along, and a basic kick/snare pattern. It stays pretty basic like this all the way up to 2:50 when it just goes into a drum solo (really bad idea when your drums sound this basic.) This solo lasts up until 3:18 when the melody kicks back in and plays through to the end. On the whole, this mix is lacking creative arrangement. What we have here is pretty much a standard melding of the two source tracks done with a very basic sound and little reinterpretation. You end up with a mix that sounds all right, but it's dry and basic and just not interesting to listen to. I'd recommend working on melding the two themes together more creatively, rather than just tacking them onto the ends of each other. Work on mastering the samples you're using to either sound more realistic, or at least pleasing to the ear. The electric guitar you used for the first section of the mix just sounds too fake and out of place for this mix. NO

I'm not so hung on up the beginning as zirc is here. I think it sounds all right. The production is where this mix goes wrong. The percussion in this is just so damn loud and repetative and it doesn't need to be. Really distracts from the mix for me. The strings are over-reverbed, as is the guitar. Now as for the actual mix, there are some wonderfully creative ideas in here. The mix has a great sound to it which is just being killed by the production issues. The original has the reverb sound, but it's also a lot quieter compared to this remix and more atmospheric. You really need to drop back on the reverb sound in this and allow the instruments to sound more upfront. I think if you do drop back the reverb you'll find the instruments will then be too loud, so turn them down! Especially the strings, which need to have an enveloping sound while not being overbearing. The arrangement is good. I'm liking pretty much everything here, you just need to work on the sound of the mix, give it the attention it deserves. Zircon's pretty much summed up what's needed in his second paragraph. Overall, nice sound. Just work on the mix some more and get it to a pleasing level of production quality. NO

Source: http://www.zophar.net/psf/FF7_psf.rar - 214 - J-E-N-O-V-A It's an interesting way to start a piece. Just drums and a flute, with a basssynth mucking around at the bottom for the first minute or so. Voice clips come in after 2 minutes. After about 2:20 we finally get something that resembles an actual song, but it doesn't really lead anywhere as the ride, snare and kick just bash along with the basssynth. This is too dysfunctional to be enjoyable. Sometimes things like this work, but in this case there just isn't enough work on making the arrangement that we have in sections sound enjoyable. The drums are really distracting towards the end of the piece and sound way too heavy compared to the rather dry and basic synths that you're using for the melody. The arrangement that we do have sounds like a cut and paste job from the original with no real effort to make anything link together properly. Nice effort, but if you're going to try something down this path, you need to make it more pleasing to the ear. NO

Source: http://www.doomworld.com/music/d_runnin.mid - Map01 Running From Evil The guitar is this is pretty darn grungey. The drums are all right, though they sound a little flat, and the snare stays the same all the way through the piece. The kickdrum needs to be filtered to get rid of the clicking sound it has, needs to be more punchy in the bass. The lead guitar you have coming in after 2:00 could afford to be much louder to be able to be heard more clearly over the grunge guitar. The arrangement is pretty good compared to the original. We have the grunge guitar following the chord changes of the original for the first minute or so and the lead guitar doing some creative reinterpretations of the lead in the original when it comes in after 2:00. The only thing I'd really like to see is some change ups in the drums, it's pretty much the same pattern through the entire piece. The cymbals, rides and hats in this need to be brought out so they sound a lot crashier and louder. It just sounds like the drums are suffering from overcompression. The length of the mix is relatively short, but it doesn't need to be very long since what you have hear is pretty creative in itself. I'd recommend going back and giving those drums a revamp so they sound a bit better, and bringing out some of that lead guitar so it's more audible. Good stuff here. NO (Please Resubmit.)

Yes, nor should you ever try again. It's not the answer. Honestly, just talk a little slower. It's not that we can't understand what you're saying at all, it's just that we can't keep up with it. It takes a moment to understand a word properly.

You need to slow down when you talk, Rexy. I still can't understand a word you're saying. You start off all right and then sort of trail off into gibberish.

It's white noise. It didn't turn out too well I know. But the file I was working on corrupted and I couldn't fix it.