prophetik music   Judges ⚖️

wow, it's hard to define why, but i immediately knew this was an FF track listening to the original. there's so many parallels to tracks on the soundtracks from X through XIII. what an excellent original though. evocative opening. there's a lot of mud due to several things in the same frequency range right off the bat, but it's a very pretty combination. there's a lot of ensemble work which i really appreciate. it's a little confusing hearing the bass playing both bass parts alongside melodic elements simultaneously - i guess this is more of a chapman stick emulation? - but it's a cool sound. the instrumentation really makes it feel like a chrono cross track, actually. we get percussion at 1:43 alongside some more traditional use of harp, and some choir pads. there's a lot of patience and nuance in how this stuff is being used. the beat picks up a bit at 2:55, and most of the instruments move back to their traditional roles (harp arp, bass for the bass line, guitar for rhythmic and chordal elements). the choir pad's a bit louder here and it drags a bit, but moves back to some more melodically-focused stuff at 3:23, and the pads here have some interesting suspensions as well. acoustic solo around 3:55 was nice also. key change at 4:19 and a more driving beat give this a much more energetic feel. the mastering in here is nice and clean and i can still hear the guitar clearly without anything crazy in regards to volumization being done. 5:23's a peak and drop, and it goes through the descending line a few times before it's done. i wasn't really sold on the description at all, but this execution is tremendouz. there's a lot of patience and care shown with how you realized each of these instruments. i'd definitely not have assumed they were all tracked. the ensemble sound throughout is great and the clear master really helps those excellent interpretations to shine through. nice work. YES

opens with air sweeps and some creepy piano noodling around the fortress theme. we get some heavy guitars and drums at 0:32 alongside a pretty mean synth bass (what an interesting combination). snare is really bright and cuts through the mix really well in here. there's a shift to a more electronic-focused groove at 1:21 with a ton of space in the drums especially - this sounds so good, the really tight drum mastering makes it absolutely cook. 1:35 is awesome. there's the first break at 1:47 with a bit of a solo break and then we get the guardian progression complete with chromatic scalar runs right after. there's a great drum fill and then 2:30 is a full shift Algorithm-style to four on the floor for a bit before shifting to 7/4 and having some fun with acoustic guitar and a turned-off snare. some signature zack orchestral work and we're in another break at 3:31 with some voice clips. the kick is a touch aggressive here without the guitars, but it sounds great when it switches to doubletime when the guitar comes back in with the backing melody from the guardian theme. 4:43 is another destination point, everything really comes together so well there with the title theme. one last break at 5:10, with...banjo and rocking chairs? and then we get some electrograss for a few beats before the banjo gets chopped up to oblivion and play time is over. is it a xaleph piece if there isn't a section with just a kick, bass, and snaps? so we get that requisite part out of the way and then build back up the energy for one last big blow. drums in this last section are so good. i wish there was just a little bit more prep for the ending, and then it's done. this is outrageously good, such a layup. josh's drum work is superb - this is easily the best i've ever heard of his music, just so technically proficient - and the mastering job done on them to tighten them down so far so as to let the musicality and space shine through is just perfectly done. it's great to hear ryan on an OCR track again too - he's got a great style that meshed so well with the electronic elements to augment and not overtake them. this is a triumph. superb work. YES

opens with some very verby choir and organ synths. acoustic comes in soon after, aping fingerstyle. the attack on this guitar vst doesn't really sound super realistic for this (it's a weird combo of hammer-on and nail picking), nor does there seem to be much velocitization on it. there's a resolution at 0:59, some bells and sfx, and then drums building into 1:23 where we get some distorted bass guitar and rhythm guitar. the drums here are very verby, which lends to an arena feel. the bass again doesn't have much in terms of velocitization on it, which makes it feel very robotic. the rhythm guitar is panned pretty widely, or is stacked, and either way doesn't quite have enough distortion on it to cover up that it's not super realistic. the lead guitar comes in with the melody soon after and is really loud compared to everything else - it completely wipes every other instrument off the map and needs to be turned down a lot. there's a bit of a break at 2:10 for a few seconds, and then we get some ensemble rhythmic stuff as the lead does some runs around Light of Silence. these runs don't sound super realistic mostly because of the attacks - there's no mix of picking and hammer-on. if it's possible in your vst to do that, you definitely want to look into varying that up. the vibrato that's put on the lead in a few places, like 2:35, sounds weird because it starts at the attack instead after a bit - set that lfo to start after a bit so that it's not modulating the attack right after it's picked. 3:10's a palate cleanser with the world revolution chords, and then we get a recap of the manoria cathedral melodic material. it sounds like the lead here is repeated from earlier based on how it's handling vibrato. this section is arrangement-rich and really fun. i love the stacked chords at 3:55 and how impactful that is. 4:28 is another manoria recap - this theme is getting a bit played out by this point, but you do keep it different by passing it around between instruments which is a good choice. 4:52 is the start of a ritard that causes some really weird transformations in the audio - is your reverb tied to steps instead of seconds for duration? i'm wondering if that's what's causing the modulation - and then at 5:10 we've got a recap of the opening section, and it's done. this is a great arrangement! there's so much going on and i love that. despite never leaving 4/4, it has a real proggy feel to it. that said, the instruments absolutely are letting you down here. this track is screaming for live guitar, and while normally i wouldn't say "you need live instrumentalists to make it on the site", this track 100% will benefit from live guitar at least if not also live bass and drums. i know you're in tight with some great performers, so i'm wondering if you'd be able to work with them to get some real instruments in here instead of the fake stuff, because quite simply a guitar vst will never do what you're asking it to do without mentat-level abilities in industry-leading tools, whereas half of the guitarists in the community could do this in their sleep. with that in mind, i'm not going to spend time talking about mastering, since i do feel strongly that this will change a lot when you revisit it. as it is, the instrumentation isn't good enough to pass as real or fake enough to pass as synth rock as-is, so i'll not pass this yet. but i'll definitely pass it when it comes back around and slays me with sick guitar riffs =) NO

drum tone is excellent, mic work is really nicely done. keys, violin, sax, and bass really come together to nail the sound. michelle's voice is great for this type of jazz - the super-clear pronunciation is an underrated element of the style. the first blow through the verse and chorus is pretty straightforward, and we get a piano solo at 2:09 that's excellent as expected based on the performer. lots of scalar flourishes work really well with this kind of languid groove. vin solo after is similarly fitting and patient, and joe's solo is a nice compliment in that it's more technical and exploratory with the drums under it being more involved as well, and then he does a nice job settling behind the violin line while still saying interesting stuff. 3:46 is a bit of a break and comes back to the verse elements. the melodic line is a bit meandering in this track and michelle overall does a nice job stringing together the line. the chorus is repeated at the end and there's a few notes that aren't quite there in this section. after that is a pretty standard short outro with requisite sax sustain, and it's done. this is an easy vote for me. excellent adaptation of the original in the same style without losing the plot in a jazz rendition with solo work. nice work. YES

artist: prophetik music mass effect is a series with a number of unforgettable moments. the first time you open the galaxy map and see the different places you'll be exploring the first time in mass effect 1 is one of them. this theme is just absolutely perfect for capturing that sense of exploration and wonder and i've always wanted to do an arrangement of it as a result. i intentionally didn't want to focus on a bumping beat with real drums, or a synthwave-esque approach, as i've been in a bit of a creative rut lately around that. instead, i focused on more interesting combinations of synths with rhythmic elements, and played around with some of the chord progression under the melodic material. i mostly used omnisphere for this. Games & Sources Mass Effect series (mostly 1 for this) - Uncharted Worlds

opens with some wide synths and an articulated bassline element that's pretty hard to hear and parse. the synths are playing a stylized version of the melodic line in fifths which sounds really weird initially. i don't see at all how this opening section ties to the rest of the piece, and i really didn't care for whatever the synths were playing, and i couldn't really hear what the bass instrument was doing at all so it sounded very tuneless. i don't think this opening fits in the slightest and didn't have any idea where it was going from here. 0:25 is a dramatic shift in style as a more traditional guitar approach comes in. lead guitar is pretty heavy in the left ear and the bass is hard to hear although i can tell it's there somewhere. there is a huge block of mud between 40 and 80hz and that's making it real hard to hear anything specific down there - i believe this is due to the rhythm guitars being really low and in the bass range and playing constantly (ie. no rhythmic variation). this trucks through most of the melodic lines in a row and then starts a solo section at 1:09. each of the first few licks in the solo end on a weird note which is unfortunate because the following harmonized solo part is fun to hear. there's a djenty section starting at 1:55 that's pretty mean and rhythmically heavy. the panning here is really extreme and it sounds kind of strange as a result. 2:14's got a melodic line over a proggy, fast section in the rhythm guitars, but it's a bit hard to hear the backing elements since the lead guitar's so loud. this continues into the section at 2:25 - the lead parts are so loud compared to everything else that i can hardly hear anything under them. there's a sudden drop off to electronic elements. these are the outro and the track quickly trails off after this. i don't think the opening and ending fit the rest of the track at all - there's essentially no audible synth work in the main body of the mix, so why start and end with them? there's nothing to tie them to the rest of the work. the main rock portion of the track was fun to listen to if straightforward initially, and then there's some solo work that again is interesting but had some weird notes. the lead guitar is also very loud and left-ear heavy throughout, which caused some difficulty in hearing what was going on in conjunction with the low-end mud that was throughout. i think that overall the arrangement was fairly conservative but enough to do what you're looking to do. i don't think the production is there yet - there's some EQing needed on the low-end guitars and bass and kick, and the panning is pretty significant right now. beyond that, there's some leveling that needs to be done in regards to the lead vs. the rest of the track - probably you need some automation to adjust the later sections down without touching too much of the solo section. i also think the opening and outro, which at ~40s is a fair portion of the work and doesn't make a lot of sense what it's doing, needs attention. so this is a no from me, dog, but i think you've got a good basis here to continue to improve. NO

starts out with some light drums and bass. bass is obviously not real and the drums are essentially static tones, but it's got a funky feel which is fun. melody comes in at about 0:11. i wondered how you'd fit a very straight melody into the swing you're using, and i think that keeping the faster runs straight works well alongside the swing and space you've added to the slower elements of the melody. 0:46 adds some 'snare' and 'bari sax' for a bit. snare does some polyrhythmic stuff that's neat but really hard to parse without any backing elements, especially considering the swing, but the other synth sustains sound fun and there's some chord extensions here that are pretty neat. 1:21 gets us a kick, but the synth lead is now doing what sounds like the same thing for the third time in a row outside a few new articulations that weren't there the first time. this really does sound like copy/paste to me, or close enough that it doesn't matter. there really needed to be something to mix it up here, as it's feeling pretty stale. the section at 1:56 being so different was a nice choice - maybe just move it earlier in the work to avoid the repetition? 2:25 gets us some new stuff in the lead, which is welcome. there's still the chord extension vibe going on which i think sounds real fun in the melodic line. the track kind of just ends after this, with a short ritard and then a short sustain. a more prepared ending would have been nice. this is an interesting track. i found the instrument quality to be lacking throughout (assuming this is a sound chip reference that i'm just missing) and the ending isn't great, but the arrangement's main body is really sparkling and features a lot of unique stuff throughout. it says a lot for such sparse instrumentation. i think that i'm good with this as-is, actually. YES

opens with some very light washes of sound and some sfx. the build eventually includes some understated bass, piano, acoustic guitar strums, and percussive elements. the original's fairly repetitive, and overall this rendition keeps some of those repetitive elements and just slows them down some. there's a light wobble on most of the instruments used, and overall it's a very cozy sound, lots of autumnal warmth represented. there's an extended outro and it's done. this is a style that i don't go for at all, in general, but what's done here is a consistent representation of the original in a new feel that somehow also doesn't lose the hopeful vibe that permeates the OST track. nice work. YES

opens with a driving beat and some low bass synths. we do finally get melody at 0:31, in a backing synth i can hear the A theme. the 'chorus' section i agree doesn't appear to have a melodic line until the glidey synth comes in at 1:09. that synth does the B theme with some extra fanciness on the lines. this whole first section has a great synthwave/darkwave vibe to it. we switch to double-time and it's driving a lot more now. i like the space in the bass for sure. the A section doesn't appear to have melodic content in it for this half of the track. the guitar solo is over the B chords, i believe, and there's some licks in there that are from the track but overall is just a fun solo. right after the solo, we get a ritardando and fadeout, and it's done. in terms of overt source usage, i hear melodic content from 0:31 to about 0:53, 1:09 to 1:28, and a few snippets in the guitar solo like at 2:35ish. the chord progression and some of the motifs are present in several spots throughout, though. for example, the ascending triads at 0:21 are reminiscent of the B theme's beginning, the opening in the bass is similar to the A theme's opening, etc. but overall i just don't think there's enough direct references to the original for me to say it's 50%. there's certainly a lot of little bits here and there, but there's nearly a minute in the middle where there's nothing (not even really a melody or solo happening, just groove), and the guitar solo only really references anything near the end. i think that if i'm missing some source here and it's actually present, this is a yes. as is though i'm not sure the chord progression (which isn't overly unique) is enough to call it source-dominant throughout. NO

beautiful flute recording as expected. the use of aerophone-style instruments like a bass flute for the backing elements is a really clever way to adapt the accordion's concept to this. there's some light percs to fill in a bit. overall the counterpoint going on is well-thought out and nicely done, and the extra sfx at 1:40 or so make for some nice texture. the glock cadenza was a little unexpected. i also liked the integration of the original LoZ theme. this is a lot more creative and far-reaching than usual for you! i really enjoyed the stretch. excellent work. YES

quickly into the melodic content on this one - the beat's in almost right away, along with some snappy sfx. there's a lot of space in the initial beat and it feels really bouncy and open as a result. melody is pretty straightforward but i like the burbles behind the synth lead. there's some playing with time at 0:45, and we're into a more consistent beat at 0:51. 1:04's got a half-time section - i love the bass here, and the lead tone is great too. 1:27's where the half-time section ends and it gets back to melodic content soon after. i like the focus on the beat there for a few seconds to get us back into the original time sig before going after the melody. there's a drop at 2:25 to give us a break before the ending blow, and then the track goes through one more bit of half-time section before it's done. this is short and sweet. it's a catchy melody and you did a nice job highlighting that. i like the way you mixed up the time a bit - like when you were playing with where the downbeat falls, or when you did the halftime section. this isn't anything complicated but it's fun and enjoyable. nice job. YES

i honestly don't have much to say here that i haven't written fifteen or twenty times already. you go through a bunch of zelda tunes in a row, and there's not any dynamic contrast or depth of range in the representations. your use of live performers and lots of percussion (which is easy to sample) does a good job covering up the limits of the orchestral samples used. the arrangement intermixes well with the use of various instruments to handle the melodic material, you add some countermelodic material occasionally, and the tracks are quiet but nowhere near as quiet as they used to be. there's no energy in any of these arrangements ever, but they do what they say on the tin and they pass our criteria overall based on that. YES

wild original as expected. big brash drums and bass samples used here. the limitations of the tracker are immediately obvious as it's kind of a dense soundscape, and kind of muddy, but chris gets so much out of his tools. the melodic material in the brass sounds fantastic - i love the little vibrato on the end of the sustained notes. there's a screaming sax solo at around 1:10 and some other funky synth work through 1:40. there's a bit of a break there and then we're back full speed at 1:43. there's some more ensemble work with the organ carrying the scalar melodic theme for a bit, and a shout chorus at 2:31. it blows through some ascending fanfare elements and then it's done. tracker music isn't my thing by any means, but it's easy to see the skill here. this is an energetic and appropriately quirky approach to a crazy track from a fun soundtrack. YES

opens with some harp and water sfx. this is panned harder here than i'd expect - it's actually kind of hard to hear initially without turning it up farther than i'd expect. mipha's theme is nicely represented in the harp and percussion elements though, and the winds are as expected very well performed and do a nice job handing off the melodic elements. there's a nice little cadence at 1:12 and the track progresses through some more melodic noodling. there's a few weird sounds at 2:00 but that may be overlap from the reverb on chord changes. ocarina at 2:25 is just so well-played and recorded. most of the section immediately following it is a blur though - there's not a lot that you can really hear distinctly outside a few washes of sound. windfish is at 3:22, primarily in the ocarina, which is a bit pitchy here as it's so low. there's some sfx that's the windfish itself, if i'm not mistaken, and some setpiece noodles for about 45s through here. we do eventually get waterside at around 4:29, and the transition into that is well-handled. there's a few more washes of color and then some sfx to end it. as with all RET tracks, this demonstrates competency in using the tools she has available, the arrangement is solid, it's quiet and slow, and doesn't demonstrate a ton of dynamics or variance in style. this is above the bar for sure. YES

opens with some sfx and a gliding synth that really apes the CAoS track well. starts to get some more body around 0:30 and again at 0:54 as it starts to get some beats. beat hits at 1:18 and there's a really fun ambiance going on - the 4/4 influence is clear, but there's some playing with time which is a neat idea. i like the way the bass is used throughout this entire section. 2:14 is a more aggressive feel - continues being pretty spacey in the backing elements, but the bass is more aggressive. the extra distortion edge that's showing here in the bass is really nice. 2:38 is an extended break and feels so metroid - something about the arps and chorused bass really just piques that memory. there's a nice build through 3:35 into 3:45 to a chorus section. there's some extra metroid melodic material as it drops off a bit going into 4:15, another key change, and then we get some outro elements as it trucks back through some source material to get to the end. this is a layup. the CAoS melodic material is indeed meandering, and your idea to use it as a verse with the Prime track being the chorus was inspired. there's a bunch of subtle production techniques being used throughout which is really fun to hear as well. overall this is a great example of the inspiration that can come from a short timeframe to work on the bones of a track. nice work. YES

big beat right off the bat, love the bass synth especially. we get a fuller beat at about 0:29 and some nice subtle backing elements until the descending melodic motif comes in at 0:44. 1:14's another representation of the A theme, just without the arpeggiation. i didn't care for this FM-y lead quite as much, i found it to be a bit grating. 1:44's a bit of a drop and the melody's still going - this might have been an opportunity to drop it, but we get one more playthrough and then it's done by 1:58. there's a bit of a break of countermelodic material and then the FM lead's back for another go. the B theme makes an appearance at 2:57 and continues through another beat drop and build, but quickly is set aside for the fm lead again. this keeps hammering until 4:11, when we're in the outro of the track. it does show up right before the end too. this is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the original, primarily focused on the A theme, and it has a great beat and some fun backing elements to keep it moving. there's a few breaks and they show up in the right times. my main criticism is that the A theme just keeps getting repeated over and over (using a synth i didn't personally care for), which gets tedious maybe halfway through the mix. if it changed synths a few times (instead of just once at the beginning) or wasn't used so consistently with no breaks for most of the mix, it wouldn't have been as big a deal, but imo that's really dragging the overall product down. this is, i think, over our bar. the mix is solid and the beat has a great body to it. i wish more attention had been paid to repetitive elements, but other than that i think this is an enjoyable track and fun to add to the site. YES

opens with classical guitar. this isn't particularly realistic nor does it attempt to sound idiomatic, but does fit the original's style. this entire first section through 0:42 is, to my ears, direct from the midi. we then get a great variations sections that focuses on the eighth-two sixteenth pattern, then steps down through the circle of fifths in a descending pattern. this section is awesome from an arrangement perspective! i love the variations concept here. 1:07 returns to the midi and goes almost completely straight from the midi again, and we get a repeat of the previous variations section from 0:42. 2:14 is a new section that's essentially 0:42 in major, which is a fun turn of idea. there's a repeated fanfare section to end it on a cadence, and we're done. this is a really fun idea! i can't imagine that this isn't doable with performers - it'd just take a bit of patience learning to arrange it, but it should be eminently doable with live artists. that'd fix my number one issue here, which is that it doesn't sound real at all. you do a lot more with dynamics than i'd have expected, but ultimately the lack of idiomatic playing makes it pretty clear. separately, the arrangement has great ideas but isn't ready for primetime yet. the repetition of the first minute or so in its entirety is too much copypasta, first of all, and the inclusion of the original midi for the first 40ish seconds with no changes is probably a standards violation right there. if you were to instead add some countermelodic or contrapunctal elements to that first 40s, then change it up further when you repeat the first minute (both the theme and the variation), that'd be more than enough arrangement for me! but as is it's not enough. this is such a fun idea! i'd love to hear it with a more realistic depiction of classical guitar and a more involved arrangement. NO

what an interesting perspective to take on this original. you're right in that it's very non-thematic, but your approach is really interesting. opens with several flourishes following traditional japanese scalar patterns (hirajōshi was a fun rabbit hole, thank you for that name). the tabla and taiko next to each other is a neat combination of sounds as well. 0:39 is kind of the first part where the melody's all in a row instead of interspersed, and there's a lot of handoffs of the melodic content which i like. i also like the use of phrases that aren't 4 bars, which subverts the listener's expectations a bit. 2:05's the first big break, really, and it's short - quickly moving back into the melodic content and taiko use. the outro starts at about 2:49, and there's a nice cadenza for a bit there before a final ensemble action. the original features several variations of a three-note motif (the first three in the video), with various tails on those three notes. for arrangement, i looked for those motifs (and then caught the tails occasionally as they occurred), and found them in several forms, with the most common method of arrangement being direct representation or some form of augmentation, either rhythmic or intervallic. no concerns about source usage here. this is a really interesting adaptation! i really like the approach here, especially considering the non-melodic original. you do a nice job realizing a complex source using nonstandard instrumentation and the application of several non-western scalar techniques alongside more western approaches to arrangement and theory is fun. nice job. YES

opens with some john mayer-esque acoustic chord progressions and some light strings and keys. acoustic sounds super crisp. melodic material is immediately recognizable. the new chords are a neat concept. the backing elements are super lush which sounds great. there's a bit of a break right away (which is a technique i really like). there's some timing crunchiness at 0:59 but it resolves quickly. the chorus at 1:31 has a fun bit right before it and then sounds great when it's all firing. my one critique there is that the drums are a touch loud through this section. aside from that, the chords at the end of the chorus section don't quite fit the vocal line as much as you'd want, but it's not bad, just felt a little weird. CW's voice overall sounds really solid. don't be afraid to support from your belly more! some of the ends of phrases lose some body and get a bit pitchy (1:04, 1:21). that can be rectified by ensuring you're using proper posture and that you're using enough air support. your straight tone is pretty consistent which is great, so just cleaning up the edges will make a big difference. tom groove at 1:58 is great. the bass work in here too is great and helps keep it moving forward without being too in front of the beat. the phrase at the end of 2:32 is probably the best vocal part of the song thus far - great support and tone. the second chorus is solid and then we get the requisite guitar solo. i love the arp in the background of this - it's so kirby! acoustic guitar solo sounds excellent too. clearly you need more acoustic solos in your songs. we get another electric solo (which is honestly so wild considering the style of the song, it's almost too much! but i love it). there's a hard fall-off after this in terms of energy - it's a hard cut. the words fit that pretty well. the transition into the chorus again has a ton of energy and then we're into the last part of the song. there's some outro with bells and it's done. this is a great example of how to take a melody-centric approach and totally rewrite the backing elements. it's clear what the original is and does a great job of making a fun, clear, new interpretation of it. excellent work all around. YES

can definitely see how these themes fit together. opens with the chord progression from A Truth Revealed in some very fake choir samples, but quickly fleshes out the arpeggio with some better writing. the guitars come in with some elements of Zanarkand before shifting to the KH2 track. there's a much more active lead guitar part through this entire section than i've heard in the past from you, and i can't say that i think it's a positive development. the counterpoint part in the guitar seems needlessly complex and isn't really doing melodic stuff most of the time, so it's hard to pin down what it's playing around. for example, at 1:55 it's clearly outlining the Zanarkand theme, but it's hard to clarify that because nothing's actually playing the melodic line. this gradually builds in intensity until we're at full-on blastbeat at 2:29. this section is more in keeping with how you've represented themes in the last and this is more approachable and consumable. there's a bit break at about the 3:00 mark, and the chords from Truth Revealed come in. there's still a reliance on the choir samples here, but they're written much better so they're more listenable. there's a chord change at the end that is kind of awkward at about 4:07, and the time changes into a triple meter here as well. there's some creative chord work in here that doesn't sound 100% in line with itself, and i will admit it's hard to keep track of what's happening here. this needs more clarity in the writing. 5:20 opens up the beat to 5, which is an interesting idea, and then explores more of the melodic elements in this new time. 6:13 or so goes back to the intro for some of the ensemble work there, and it noodles around until we get a complete drop at 7:06 for the ending. overall this is a lot more uneven of an arrangement than past remixes have been. it's much harder to track the melodic material through the very complex chord elements you've added, and i found myself straining even in sections that were clearly FFX (which is an OST i know very well) to identify what was going on where. i think the idea makes a lot of sense, but in execution there's major sections where i just have no idea what's going on, and the added contrapunctal work in the lead guitar in several sections just sounds needlessly complex. i think this one needs some more work to clarify the harmonic backdrop and improve the clarity of the arrangement. NO

interesting variety of originals. beat hits at 0:07 and doesn't look back. i love the big build section at 0:20, and the melodic section at 0:28 is great - i love how angular it is. there's a ton of sfx and other weird glitchy sounds going on in here which add to the energy, although admittedly i really don't like the panning sfx that jumps between ears. we go through a transitional section with a bunch of new sfx brought in, and another big build section. this lands on a copy/paste from 0:28-0:42 at 1:04. after this we get our first break - needed, at this point, this has been a ride already! - at 1:18. there's some nice pads here and the Out of This World piano part. after some booga chicka super zombie sfx, the first melody is back but it's mixed up this time and not a copy (at first, the panning sfx come back at 2:00). there's another break with some parts mixed up from the first break, and this goes into an outro with still more appropriately-themed sfx. what a ride! this is obviously intentionally silly in some parts but still comes across as a competent, rollicking exploration of a neat original. the energy stays up the whole time which is really nice. fun track. YES

neat original, never heard of this game. opens with a distant beat and some delayed arps. there's some static on here that comes in and out a bit which was confusing for a second. the beat hits at 0:24 and is very synthwavey, with sidechained bass and some detuned leads. the initial presentation of the melodic elements are pretty straightforward. the fm lead that comes in around 1:10 is stylistically right in the pocket so that was neat. there's some nice glassy arps that come in later as well that i thought fit well. there's a bit of a drop at 1:58 that brings in some nice wide pads as a contrasting element, and that functions well as a break. 2:21 brings back the kick and bass riff, and it starts to build back up again. when it comes back in at 2:44, this is to my ears the same as 0:24 exactly, and the subsequent section with the melodic lead is the same also until 3:27. there's a bit of a shift here to bring back the fm lead with some modulation on it, and that functions as an outro. this is overall a pretty straightforward representation of the middle. i think there's a heavy reliance on the melody line (as opposed to countermelodic elements or harmonic elements) to drive the track, and i called out the ~40s section that was straight copy. but overall i think this turned out pretty good aside from those issues. i like the slightly slower beat as the track settles into a groove right away and stays in it, and i think the variety of synths used was a positive. i would have definitely liked to see more personalization of the melodic line, or addition of other harmonic or countermelodic elements, to make this more your track. as a whole though i think this is over the bar. YES

i think i know enchanted esper better than the original, interestingly enough. starts out with some tempo-synced effecting on the guitar and a very slow, arena-like sound. keeps the original 7/8 time signature. most of the opening section is pretty straightforward outside the genre adaptation. there's a break at 1:21 with a super dope guitar arp element, and then we get the band sound back together at 1:45 for another blow through the melodic content. there's a few changes here but not a ton (i loved the doubled melodic line up an octave though). after this we again get a similar break as at 1:21, but this time the drums are driving it forward a lot more, and that build-up keeps going for a while. there's no payoff, though, as it hits 3:49 and is into the outro. from a mixing perspective, this one overall has a solid band tone that is clear and doesn't ever get in the way of itself, although i can't really hear a bass instrument. there's not much bass at all, in fact - bass peaks at 70hz? that seems pretty high - and as it nears the end the lead guitar gets a little shrill. outside of that though there's a really clear design for the band tone and it's enjoyable. the arrangement overall is pretty conservative - there's not a ton going on in the track that isn't in the original already. in fact, i'd go so far to say that while this does adapt to the genre really well, there's virtually nothing that's played by instruments that isn't word for word what's in the original. with that in mind, though it kills me to write it as this sounds so fun, i don't think there's enough arrangement here to pass our guidelines. this feels like a cover in a different genre, and that doesn't demonstrate the transformative arrangement that we call for in our standards. altered chords, manipulation of the melodic or harmonic elements, rhythmic variations, added original content, or even manipulation of the time signature would have been a huge plus in your favor here, but ultimately i just don't think there's enough. which stinks because this is a really enjoyable listen. NO edit 9/11: i spent another bit of time listening through this and i'm not willing to hold it back based on arrangement. i think there's enough here. in fact i think there's more than i caught the first few times i listened through that, so that's on me. YES

weird original! it's got a lot of swagger, you're right. speaking of swagger, there's a ton right off the bat on this one. the initial melodic presentation is right away and it's appropriately balls to the wall and full of saxophones. there's some wicky-wah guitar in there too and that's such a funny transposition compared to the heavy backing elements and wailing horns. there's a break at 1:01 and some ensemble stuff which is super fun to hear. then we hear a bass solo/drum break - excellent bass playing in here! really fun - and a solo that's all angles and hard turns. i love it, it's very weird. the drum interlude after it is wild too - just really out there, and not what i expected at all but clearly inspired by the opening. there's another run through the verse with some wild hardpanned guitar silliness - great way to keep it moving and new - and a bit of ensemble blow to take us out. my main nitpick in this would be that the taiko under the bass solo are so boomy i can hardly tell what they're doing. i like the idea but that needed to have most of the bottom taken out, because it's a mudslide with the bass down there. overall though the band sound is superb - i can always hear what is going on - and the arrangement is great! such a fun approach to an original i've never heard before. excellent work. YES

cinematic pad opening with the aforementioned reverse choir effect. the augmented fourth triad that gets used throughout is a really interesting element of the original and i like that you really lean into that as a melodic anchor amidst all the swirling pads. similarly, the super-rhythmic approach with the arp and delay on it is a neat way to keep it moving while there's all the ear candy around it. we get a real beat at 1:24 and the bass blat right before it is a great transitional element that comes right from the source. the snare in this section is my favorite part. there's a bit of overworld theme around the 2:40 mark that's a fun easter egg. we get some time through the 'chorus' with riju's theme at 3:02, and i really like the lead instrument choices there. there's some twang to it that's really neat to catch. there's some sfx outro and it's done. this is, as expected, superb. the sound design is just next level throughout. excellent work. YES