prophetik music   Judges ⚖️

took a second to grok what was going on, but there's some really fun stuff going on in that intro. the beat is really fun too, i liked the detuned hat drop effect. lead is unfortunately pretty basic - even a little lfo over time to the sustain tone would have helped. i like the backing blurbs more.
there's a break at 0:56 for a bit, and we get some gliding stuff as a neat palate cleanser for a short while before the synth/eguitar comes in at 1:24 as the lead for a short solo. there's a recap of the melodic material before a much more intense B section at 1:51. i really liked the idea here and wish it was more involved. one lil jon sample later, we're in a riding pattern that fades out to end it. i wouldn't have minded the bass there being a touch quieter.
this is a neat idea! i think the leads are really boring but i love the concept beyond that. i think this would have been a favorite of a lot of folks in, like 2004-2006. i think this is pretty borderline myself, but probably would lean on the side of good enough due to the fun arrangement and really interesting beat work. i can definitely see the leads pulling down for other Js though and would focus on that if this doesn't make it.
 
 
YES

some nice glassy pads to start, and the melodic line comes in right away. the scattered nature of that lead there is very fitting for an opening element. the beat comes in pretty soon after, at 0:28. bass at 0:32 is a little weird. this is a very dynamic approach, and quickly expands into mixed meter with the Taupe Hollow section. there's some really wild stuff here which is such a shift from the initial premise which felt more poppy to start. i love the progression of styles.
1:27's a transition and build into a new feel with a very dynamic lead element at 1:39. this might be my favorite build and texture out of any of your music, truong - it's so intense and vibrant. i like the little countermelodic shouts in the background. there's some settling action at 2:07. the high lead here has some (obviously intentional) weird stuff that it's doing like at 2:11 and 2:22, but i like it and think it fits into the feel. there's a half-time section at 2:30. there's a ton of long-delay elements here and some chromaticism in the chord work, but it doesn't ever fall on itself (although it does sound pretty dynamic).
2:58's back to a more driving feel, with the forest melody chopped up on top for a bit. this isn't quite the same as the opening section at 0:28, but it's very similar. same with the following mixed meter section, break section, and shout section right after (build has an extra measure) - so that's actually a lot of repeated material, over 90s, before we do finally get some different material around the 4:30ish range. we get a nice final chord at 4:50, and there's some outro as keyboard cat plays us off.
this is a fun ride through a variety of themes. i never got the feel that there was multiple melodic sources here - it's very well-connected and a great whole. there's more repetition than i cared for, but overall i found the track to be well-handled with good synth choice, a solid master, and a fun arrangement. nice work.
 
 
YES

opens with some filtered arps and wide synth elements - i really like this opening feel. the sfx panned to the sides might be a little loud on headphones. i don't hear any of Howling Gears in this opening section, although the arp is reminiscent of the B section as you stated. same issue at 0:36, i don't hear that pattern either, but i do catch the bassline when it comes in at 0:52. the guitar part is playing something that's reminiscent of the piano in the original after this, but to my ears the piano's playing an octave, and the guitar is playing a maj 6th. 
2:35's a big shift, and shout's b melody is indeed present although i don't understand at all how it fits into the setting that's already present when it does come in. it sounds like it's in an entirely different key (the backing elements really look like Bb to me and shout's b melody is being played in Fm). the following guitar-led section is easier to understand and more obviously maps to gears. 
there's a big dropoff here before it gets back into gears again as interpreted earlier. there's a big filter that hits at 5:11 and doesn't sound like it goes away for a long time here - the bottom end feels like it's missing until almost 6:00 for a few seconds.
this goes some pretty wide-ranging places, which is neat. my main concern is the source usage, because i don't hear it in extended stretches of the track. i am gonna need to do some timestamping on this because as-is there's not enough source.
 
 
?
edit 9/4: thanks to jnwake for more in-depth analysis. even with the expanded source notes above, i just can't grok most of the connections that are called out. i would need more explicit, present instances of source material before i'd be able to consider this one. i also think the track would benefit from some more intentionality in the sections, but overall do agree that the track is generally well-produced and quite listenable.
NO

loads of sound design and sfx clips to start. a beat starts to surface at 0:27, and the rhythmic foundation for the original N64 track can be heard in the patterns being played here - an interesting idea. there are steadily more melodic elements added in until we get to the break at ~1:02, and then 1:21 is where we start hearing more of the melodic material again. there's some alternations in here, and notably the choice of notes at 1:40 and 1:47.5 are a half-step off of the key (should prob be Eb-F instead of D-E to avoid the D-Ab tritone)). this is real intense for the most part and a toe-tapper of a section. i really like the super-heavy electro bass through all this. a mid-range element is added around 2:04 that feels a little too much and makes it a touch too dense, but overall this is a neat section. the melody coming in as a break near the end of it is a good glue section. between that initial part and the deconstruction that happens after, around 2:30.
we get a wildly unexpected stylistic transition at 2:58 into...i guess hindi trap? the bassline here is really fun. this noodles quite a bit but is recognizable. there's another unexpected break before a short exploration of the opening few bars of the venom stabs, which morphs into a more brickwalled intense section of venom's stab section. there's way too much going on here and it's hard to hear any one thing, but i guess that's fitting for the style. the ending's a bit of a letdown after that level of intensity, but it's a fine ending and wraps the track.
this is a surprisingly straightforward arrangement of the venom theme, for the most part. there's some really wild exploratory sections that probably could have been integrated better with more patience applied to the transitions, but what's here is interesting and approachable.
 
 
YES
edit 9/15: listening again with some of the context from subsequent votes. wake and chimpa are right - this is so very hot when compared to other edm. i didn't notice how much the high mids especially were pushing on my ears until i came in fresh. cosigning their votes.
NO

opens with a significant unpitched swoop that builds to an initial wash of colors and theme. the melodic material that comes in after 0:30 is nicely patient and doesn't rely on percussive elements to move forward, which is a nice change. the beat hits at 0:59 and is a nice vibe. the 808 conga sound that repeats at the end of every bar sticks out a bit to me, but i really like some of the other elements, like the wobbly vibes used for the melodic material here.
there's a fun choppy transition at 1:57, and the following section is pretty obfuscated. there's some melody in there but it's really hard to hear, might be actually too quiet. the transition at 2:26 is unexpected, but the feel after is really fun - the glidey trumpet lead here with the heavy kick is a really interesting combination. 
2:57 is a significant drop - there's like 30s of noodles here before it gets back to more than one thing in the texture. i'm surprised how much i didn't mind the dropoff, actually - i really expected to find it to be too long of nothing going on, but the patience again won me over. i would have minded if it was louder though, as the dynamic contrast is pretty huge. harmonizing the glider synth is a really clever idea to ramp it up a touch.
big build into 4:03, and we get another low-key driving beat here (now with chippy arps). the toms that come in around 4:32 were a little forward and out of the texture for me (and the hats that came after felt really loud). once everything came together and we had the actual full beat together at 5:02, it felt better, but i still felt the hats were a touch loud. there's some building elements through this until we get another shift that winds up being the last. i felt that the more unpitched ending - basically everything after 6:00 - to be a bit of a let-down after you'd successfully built so many other clever textures throughout that tied so well to the original. it didn't feel as connected to the rest of the piece as most of the other things you'd done throughout.
overall this is a really interesting ride. there's a ton of maturity in the textures you're building here, as expected, and the mix is super tight to help make it all pop. there's a few things i wish had gone differently, but as a whole i think this is superb.
 
 
YES

opens with some heavily filtered arpeggiated elements and pads, and some really ringy vocals. the big hit at 0:31 reminds me of another remixer's penchant for huge transitional synths. there's some trancey keys doing the arpeggio and eventual melody line, although they're not particularly idiomatic. i found the wide spacey synth with the long delay on the attack to be a little too fast for how slow it was, but i liked the vibe for sure. there's a big transitional element into 1:39, and there's some really wild sound design here that's fun. i appreciate that it never quite settles down to a normal - it's constantly changing and evolving. 2:10's a hard drop in style, and the keys here sound like they're releasing early which is interesting. the lack of sustain compared to earlier feels is unsettling.
another big build into 2:44, and there's a particularly filthy bassline synth that i really like here. there's also a lot of rumble which i'm not as big a fan of. the lead here is outrageously mean and over-the-top extreme, and the transitions are all really janky, so this is very intense. 3:30's long falling action functions as a great palate-cleanser to that intensity, and we hear the docks come back much clearer this time around. the sfx in here on the vocal clips is enough that i couldn't tell at all what was going on in them. i don't know if that was intentional or not. the piano in here is a little too high and piercing for me, and combined with the overtones from the vocal clips, this was kind of uncomfortable to listen.
we finally reach the third section, and it's a much more straightforward, heavy feel. most of this didn't seem to be clearly able to be mapped to the original in any way, but there was some clear intentionality at 5:11, and later when the keys come in at 5:41. the intensity of the drums especially is nuts through this whole section. i found myself liking the setting more than everything that the lead was playing - especially initially, that low bend sounded nowhere near the key that was being played.
5:41's a significant falling action, and this is clearly the end of the road here. there's some sfx to end it, and we're done.
what a ride! this is so broad from start to finish, showing a ton of versatility and stylistic influences. i certainly don't think it's perfect, but what a broad spectrum of approaches and concepts. i certainly don't know of another DDD concept that comes at the original from so many different directions. it's easy to nitpick something so broad, so i'll just say that i really enjoyed it, there's more than enough source for it to count, and the perspective here is intense. nice work.
 
 
YES

track is hard-limited to -2dba and has some visible waveform clipping.
opens with some very verby elements - piano, muted guitar, and electric guitar in octaves. lot of panning. a huge, heavy beat comes in at 0:39 and it clips pretty hard there. there's some other pad elements but everything feels so loud that i can't really hear what's going on. at 1:01, the texture thins out again, and there's some neat little bell elements.
we get a transition into 1:35 where the melody's in the voice. there's a very loud, low piano part that's unfortunately causing more clipping here. the kick comes back in at 2:08 and exacerbates the clipping and distortion that's going on. it's unfortunate because what's here - the piano swimming in reverb, various lead elements, the bells - sounds really cool, but it's just very crunchy in a way that doesn't sound intentional.
there's an outro flourish and it's done.
most of your elements are not EQ'd at all, to my ear. at the very least, you're going to want to apply an EQ to each instrument that cuts unwanted frequencies. right now several instruments are pushing sound below 40hz, and it's causing everything to sound cluttered and muddy. turning everything down overall and then ensuring that instruments aren't transmitting in ranges you don't want them will help a lot. you have several competing instruments in the low range as well - stripping that back a bit will also help.
this is a really, really cool arrangement, and i love the approach especially in your lead choices between the guitar and voice. if we can clean up the unintentional clipping, this could be really stellar.
 
 
NO

micro mages WAS a no, originally. you passed on a resub.
opens with a whoosh that isn't in the source (but is only 0.25s long, so i'll allow it 😂), and then gets right to the source. there's a fun, bouncy feel to the bass writing, and the sidechain is crisp and significant. lead writing at 0:32 is great - tons of personalization. the sfx clip right after it is a bit loud, but i love the hard drop into the band sound at 0:49, and i absolutely love the super-heavy sidechain, reminiscent of the post-chorus Titanium sound. there's some bass growls in there that are a fun addition, and we hit the first break at 1:18. this is pretty long and does some unexpected stuff, like the fakeout build into 2:05.
we do finally get the last payoff chorus at 2:21, complete with some organic grass-fed bass wubulation. more exciting is the altered chord progression and subsequent key change so it's not just playing through it in a straight line again. excellent use of an escalation mechanic in the last few seconds of the track. there's some more sfx and some keys to play us off, keyboard cat, and we're done.
a delightful track. i think the sfx are too loud each time they come up, but that's really my only complaint. i like the arrangement, the song's scope and form, the execution, and the wrap. nice work. this is an instant favorite.
 
 
YES

will need a new name if it passes. the file name implies the name is "Surfacing Again", maybe that's it.
opens with a filtered synth that opens up over time as guitar and choir elements are added over time. the guitar initially sounds really sketchy but i like the tone once it opens up a bit. the beat drops at 0:44 and the feel is much different at this point - the transition here is very surprising. the snare sounds overly filtered, like it's in another room, and the kit as a whole doesn't sound like it's in the same room as the melodic elements. i like how tight the kit is though, especially with a funkier feel from the lead synth.
there's a transitional section with the drums on autopilot, and we get some interestingly modified chant elements before we get a new melodic section at 1:53 with a 404 bass doing some fun things. this section is pretty empty - there's not a lot going on in the background behind the lead for most of it, and it makes it hard to focus on the melody since the other elements are in the foreground as a result. separately, at this point the drums have been doing the same pattern for nearly two minutes, and it becomes painfully obvious when there's nothing else there to distract.
there's another chant break before we get a recap of 0:43 at 3:05. this sounds very similar to the first time around - it's not quite copypasta, but it's pretty close outside of a few tertiary elements. by around 3:23 i assumed it was going to start wrapping, but it went through the A melodic theme a second time (this is straight copy from 3:05), then did it two more times with a rising synth added each time. that's a lot of repetition. the build at the end of the fourth time through was nice though, i liked the guitar element coming in.
there's a hard drop after the fourth time through and a bit of bass element as an outro.
i think this is a fun track overall! i really like the vibe of the main chorus that you initially show at 0:43. i think it could definitely use some more variation in how that's presented each time, since you're using it so often, and i think also having fewer choruses at the end would help prevent it from feeling samey. speaking of samey - the drums need a lot of variation added. what's here now is obviously a loop very quickly. some attention to ensure that they're in the 'same' airspace as the rest of the instruments would help too - right now the reverbs are very different and it makes it clear they're not in the same place. lastly, i think that identifying a way to make some of the sections called out above to be less empty would help too.
i think this definitely has legs! i think the workshop on the forums or discord would be a great way to dress up some more elements here.
 
 
NO

opens with some muted pads and some snippets of the melody. the beat comes in at 0:27 and it's overwhelmingly loud - i can't hear anything but the loop and the arp synth that doesn't appear to be matching the chords. the first break is at 0:56, and it's more of a drop and build than a break. the following drum beat is again way louder than everything, and it's again fairly repetitive.
1:32 is the next drop, and i'm noticing we haven't really actually seen any melodic material by this point - there's a few very simple bloops and blurbs that might sound adjacent to some of the melodic material, but i haven't heard anything that actually states the melody. there's another way over-loud drum section - very close to 0:27's section - one more break and build cycle, and then a last big shout chorus that's more of a hardstyle feel.
from an overarching perspective, while this roughly follows the original's chord structure, i heard nothing of the original's melodic or harmonic elements. so that's a no there. separately, the balance in each section is way, way off - you could easily turn all of the percussion down by half, bring your overall volume up, and the drums would still be really big and punchy and probably too loud. 
this one needs some workshopping to balance out the parts and inject more of the original into the track. i like the idea - the original's very chill, so a big dancey version would be really fun! - but what's here isn't it yet.
 
 
NO

it only placed 2nd? wes, we don't aim for silver in this family. you're not emuBEEtor, you're emunAtor.
opens with washes of sound, because it's wes, but the ep and bass that come in after are delightful. the FM ep and clicky kit are very familiar sounds in this style and vibe. snare's a bit loud initially. the first chorus is also very rich and full sounding. there's a really wild hit at 1:39 that pops way out of the texture and sounds like an artifact to me.
the second verse has lots more harmonic and countermelodic elements, which is a nice way to mix it up a bit. the hats at 2:23 are a touch loud in the left ear.
there's a big drop at 2:50 with some sfx, and then we get the big chorus that we all wanted at 3:04. there's some real proggy elements here with how the beat and chord structure gets mixed up for several bars, and then we finally get the guitarist on his knees out in front of the band with the screaming lead that we've been waiting for. there's a ton of sfx and other stuff going on throughout this last section, and it finally all resolves a 4:23. i admit i didn't really dig the ending - the sustained choir just kind of collapsing on itself and the beat trucking for another measure or two wasn't quite the wind-down i expected after the big blow that was before it. and then it's done.
this is a fun package overall. there's some nits for sure - wes can't go two bars without a static whoosh effect, a few percussive elements are a bit loud here and there, and the ending was kind of a bummer for me - but this is still a great example of how to take a really overdone song and make it super unique and your own. definitely above the bar.
 
 
YES

as always, thank you for a clear source breakdown.
opening starts with the title theme with a variety of transitional sweeps layered in. we start to get a beat at 0:36 and it picks up from there. this entire opening section feels pretty dull with the instrument choices - there's not much sparkle in any of them for them all being EP-like, and the kick is kind of blah - but we get some pop at 0:54 when the melody comes in. i love the time signature goofiness - the 7/8 section is absolutely the right choice there.
1:27 tones it back down again. there's a surprising amount of sustains that kind of just sit there (really expected to hear some blurbs to keep it moving through that), and the overall texture is still pretty dull outside of the sweeps. i felt like that past the 2 minute mark until about 2:10 when we started getting more percussive elements coming in and more brighter synths, and then again was in a happy place at 2:25 with the melodic material back in. this trucks through the melody of both tracks, and then it's done. the ending is a little abrupt but fits the style.
this track does a fantastic job of saying "wait just a bit longer for the part you want", and then it's there and it's great, and then the track's done and i'm putting it on again. this is a great compositional technique - always repeat one less time rather than one extra time! - and when the track pops, it really pops. i think you do a great job taking a track that's kind of already in your style and making it unique and yours without copying what made it good originally. nice work.
 
 
YES

source is insane as expected.
opens with some bass and strings playing the initial riff. the bass gets a bit buried from a lead perspective under the drums when they come in, but it's still able to be heard some. guitar's just a touch behind for the first few bars that it's in. there's a quick break and we get the first real lead at 0:32.
this noodles through the melodic line, and then very suddenly kicks into bloody tears mode at 1:02. the texture here is a little thin - i don't hear much at all of the bottom end on the bass, and the rhythm guitar line is mostly monophonic to my ears. it's got a bit of an Incubus Odyssey vibe which is pretty hip. coming out of this more square section is a callback to the opening riff (is it 7+8+6+9? that's so wild). there's a break for an organ-like lead to do the ascending B riff, and some interesting sfx in the backing synths. when the drums come back in, it's straight blastbeat for like 15s until it drops, and then it's just sitting on a chord with some voice sfx until it's done.
i think that the mix has a few spots where it's not spot-on, but i like the approach and the variety of styles used. the original's so wild that just rendering it into something that's consumable here is probably enough and that's what you did. i think what's here is over the bar.
 
 
YES

Breaking news: that old mixdown sucked. @XPRTNovice@Chimpazilla@Liontamer@prophetik music or whoever, I updated the first post with a new re-mix and master in addition to changing out the synth sound that Brad was having a hard time hearing (it was there but it was all click and no tail, so I can see why it wasn't audible.)

your journey sounds significant, meaningful, and life-changing. i'm glad you're in a better place now.
opens with a filtered flourish and some pretty wild sfx, and the track starts at about 0:27. there's a really chillout vibe to this initially. i like the choice to use detuned synths to fit the spacey feel. beat hits at 1:39 and there's all sorts of fun ear stuff going on. there's a lot of higher freqs that were a little much for my ears - mostly overtones, but the cymbals and snare both felt really bright. there's a pretty wild solo at about the 2:27 mark, and we finally get a break from the pretty thick beat at 3:15. there's some new percs that come in soon after - the contrast between the fairly clean percussion and the heavily filtered backing pad is distinct but a fun combination.
we get some new stuff at 4:03, as there's some new ear candy in the build up to 4:27 and then to 4:36, and the increase in energy at 4:36 is great. you do a great job keeping a fairly static melodic line fresh and interesting through several minutes of consistent usage.
there's a recap at 5:20 of the earlier vibe with some extra bits on top, and then we hit the outro material. a few pads after the 6 minute mark and it's done.
this is a great arrangement! there's loads of unique stuff to keep it moving throughout. i think that i personally found the 2-3khz content in this to be bothersome on my headphones, but i don't think i'd have the same feel on other listening methods. i really appreciate the breadth of content throughout. nice work.
 
 
YES

when this came up ~18 months ago, i voted on this with primary criticisms being the balancing, frequency overload in the low mids, and the arrangement feeling meandering due to lack of dynamics.
opens with the ghost castle arp and a ton of really fun sfx work. some very industrial stuff is going on pretty far away, and the title screen's surprisingly chromatic melodic line comes in at 0:29. it's neat how well that works among a very spare background. the riff at 0:47 goes on for a long time and gets a little tiresome fairly quickly (that synth's delay effect was cool in small doses but is irritating with longer lines, especially since it's in one ear hard).
percussion drops a bit going into the textural shift at 1:16 - there's some new drums here as well, which are pretty hard to hear (especially the kick). the aquaduct arpeggio with the delay effect is back in the right ear and it's way louder than everything else. it gets toned back later which is good. this continues to wander around with the aquaduct theme in the front for a while. i found this section to be lacking in direction still.
there's a simplification at 2:07 alongside a time signature shift, and we're back to just the kitchen sink effects alongside the ghost castle theme for a bit. this section is neat with some of the counterpoint between the melody and counterpoint, but it feels underbaked both because of how thin it is here as compared to the drums chiming merrily along, as well as because it's the same synths as most of the rest of the song at roughly the same volume. it's hard to pull out that this is more or less important than other sections. i still find the transition at 2:37 confusing as well - it really sounds like the song suddenly ends, and there's no real prep or anything set up to come out of it either.
the synth work immediately following that break featured a few shifts that i found made it easier to pick out what was the most important. the texture here also feels more fleshed out. i didn't like that the lead instruments for this section were mostly in the right ear instead of centered. there's some fun stutter effects on the leads later on also that i liked. 
i don't think my opinion on this has changed yet. i still don't like the weird cut at 2:37, i still think the middle third drags, and i still think the lack of dynamics is a negative throughout. i don't remember the panned lead instruments before, but i find that to be irritating as well (i found myself turning my head regularly to the right to 'hear' the lead better) - in fact i think the piece is over-panned throughout.
from an arrangement standpoint, i think that you would be well-served by being more intentional bringing out the melodic lines you're trying to have us trace. you've got three sources, and tbh i think they work really well next to each other, but with that comes an imperative to be very intentional about how you emphasize and define what's where without losing the general song-form structure that you're using. the story here isn't as clear as it should be, and a big part of that is that the natural ebb and flow of a track isn't here due to there being little dynamics. i'm fine with a track that doesn't have a clear melody, but what is melody should be cohesive and readily apparent, and that's not happening here right now.
i do think you've fixed the mix a lot - i remember before the bass being totally overwhelming above everything else, and then all your instruments were very tightly mashed against each other. i think the bass is probably a bit overcorrected, but overall i found the mix to be passable aside from the panning stuff. my concerns are mainly with the song form and arrangement elements.
i have a lot to say here and it probably sounds like i hate it. i don't! i think there's some really neat concepts here, and a lot of overlapping back-and-forth stuff that reminds me a lot of old-school remixes that i loved. i just...i got done with the full listen a few times and just didn't remember a thing that happened in the middle of the piece outside of that panned synth being so annoying. that's not a good thing given the interconnected nature of this remix. the track doesn't go anywhere for an extended period of time. i actually think this is a fairly straightforward fix - just cutting some cruft out of the middle and emphasizing your melody more via non-delayed leads is probably enough.
 
 
NO

opens with some wide synths. the kick rhythm is a little confusing as there's no beat here to hang your hat on, so it's not clear where the down beat is initially. the melody comes in at 0:24, and you're right, it is questionable. polytonality is a technique i recognize, but it really doesn't work here - it just sounds off-key outright.
0:49 is where the track seems to be more settled. there's a recap of the beginning with some low synth blurbs at 1:13, and those synths kind of step on each other since they're all in the same freq range. the beat picks up at 1:38 and this has a pretty neat vibe once it gets trucking. i'll admit i don't really hear the original in this section.
2:27's lead synth doesn't really make a ton of sense to the rest of what's going on around this section, and it's so highly embellished i definitely wouldn't have caught that it's a reference to the opening without calling it out. right after the main riff here, the track just continues hammering that one note for a pretty long time without significant adds. the melody comes back finally - again, pretty heavily ornamented - and then gets some weird notes around the 3:28 point before the track is suddenly done.
so right off the bat - i think that the arrangement has legs. you've got some really creative concept work behind each part of the track (to be honest, probably too much - if a book is needed to understand a 4-minute piece, you're not doing enough as the arranger). there's a lot of padding that can be trimmed, and you need to work on transitions and the opening sections so that they're approachable and understandable.
that said, the instrumentation isn't close to being there. if this is supposed to be using some retro sound chip, ok, but evaluating this as a pickup piece of music, the audio quality isn't up to par. there's buckets of free stuff that's better across the board out there, and separately there's a lot of mixology you can do to get better sounds out of the instruments you're choosing.
i think that some serious time in the workshop discord would help a ton on this, and i think that some time spent finding ways to get better sound quality from all of your instruments is helpful too. you can do nostalgic with real synths and make it sound like a modern song still.
 
 
NO

i YES'd this last time but noted a few elements that i wasn't into.
i still think the opening kick is too boomy (this might be a headphone adequacy issue here, there's a ton of subbass there). i still like all the interplay between the elements. there's less low-mid density which is nice. the outro's kind of all over the place, and without the backing elements the shamisen loses some luster. overall it's still a noodly melody that isn't for everyone, and there's still a lot of static and that's not my favorite backing element. but i like the complexity and find the creativity to be evident in a lot of places. this is still a pass to me.
 
 
YES

original's pretty upbeat in its own right.
opening is very similar to the original, right down to the drum beat, tempo, and lead performance. this goes on for quite a while - i A/B'd the entire length of the original on this track and indeed it's the same across the board. so this already isn't something that we'd really have a place for given the lack of original arrangement over the first half of the track.
right at 2:00 we get a new section, which is clearly inspired by but isn't really arranging the original. it's a sick synth solo though! i'd like to hear more verb on it, it's pretty dry right now. guitar has a note or two that's funky in the chord that it's over, and then hits a fun chord at 2:47 before a hard cut break to the piano playing the melodic material (in a non-idiomatic way, you really should find ways to break up the left hand's block chords and velocitize the entire thing). there's another run-through the original's last section and opening, and it's done. ending is solid.
i think this is a fun listen! i'd be happy to find this on youtube somewhere, but it doesn't meet the standards for arrangement that we require here. this is more of a cover with a little new section in the middle, which is hip in and of itself, but we'd expect more adaptation of the original's melody, chords, or other elements. i don't think this track would fit here without extensive modifications, but maybe future arrangements would fit more! take a look at the submissions standards i linked above (section 4 is the big one for you, the rest aren't as applicable for this) and hopefully we'll hear from you again.
 
 
NO

boy those pads in the original are noisy.
opens with a heavily modified voice clip and some swelling noise pads. we start to get the chord structure outlined at 0:48 in the plectral bell instrument. there's a lot of sound design going on in the build that starts at 1:10 - it's mega buzzy, but there's some really neat sweeping concepts coming in there as it gets bigger and bigger. percussion doesn't have much in the way of body in this build. 1:28 it starts to feel like it's arrived and the bass switches to a more consistent rhythm. bass elements in here are pretty dense and overpopulated so it's hard to really feel a beat. there's also not really that much that's the original in this entire first two minutes that's not just the chord structure.
we get a big shift at 1:47 in timbre. bass element has a ton of wooble on it so it's hard to really hear what it's playing. the timbre shifts again significantly at 2:25, including more trance hats and a big snare alongside some more heavily automated synths. i hear the first melody that i've heard in the entire thing at 2:35 in the low synth element - lots of movement on that tone which is neat. it's immediately buried under the ascending line that comes in right after that. we do get a bit more at 3:03 before another big shift to the sax. the stuff in the lower octave is a bit blatty but this setting works well for lucas's tone. i like the duet section as well as doubling his lines with the synth. the sax lines are heavily modified but do outline the melodic material roughly - it's pretty transformed however. the chorale section near the end around the 4:00 mark is a neat idea to layer into this - logical progression to get there but also very different from most tracks in a similar style.
there's some gameboy stuff and then an outro with sfx.
overall i think the first third is heavily disassociated with the rest of the track. everything before about 1:47 really feels like a totally different track other than the chord progression. i also wasn't really feeling the initial section at 1:47 - the bass is so hard to understand what it's doing due to all of the pitch modulation on it, and there's so many bass instruments that it all just gets lost. once we're through all that, the track really starts to find identity once it starts to get melodic material around 2:30. from there on out, i think there's a lot more cohesiveness in the approach and you scope through a bunch of different timbres without losing the voice. so i do think that more work is needing to be done on the first two plus minutes to tie it all together more. i believe that not bringing the melodic material in until well after two minutes in is part of this - you need a common thread to tie it together, and the ascending scalar riff you use mostly in the middle of the track doesn't seem to be enough.
to be clear - there's not 50% source usage in this track. i am not going to count a four-bar descending chord structure as source, it's too common of a progression. i hear melody at least occasionally between 2:35-2:55, 3:04-3:33, 4:12-4:24, and 4:33-4:52 (78 out of ~304 seconds, 26%). i'd consider additional connections between 2:35 and 4:52 if i was feeling really stretchy and positive, but most of this is chord-based and not melodic or motivic. to pass, i'd want to hear at least one clear declaration of the melodic material earlier in the track. if you'd submitted just from 2:35 onward, i might consider that enough source, as a rough example.
overall i also hear a ton of conflict in the lower ranges. there's a lot going on next to one another all the way through the freq spectrum, but especially down in the bass elements. i think this is a lot closer for a first shot than most of your tracks have been! but it's still not there yet.
to recap - EQing, cohesiveness, melody usage.
 
 
NO

my previous vote on this primarily focused around the mastering issues and that there wasn't enough unique perspective on each track (ie. the focus was more on the original's positives instead of the arrangement's positives). i don't remember how the piece sounded though, it was too long ago.
opens with filtered arps coming in - i like the wind sounds coming in here. the bass comes in with a martial feel around 0:12, and i think that the lead and countermelodic instrument have some nice movement on them. i can hear the schala arp behind it too which is a fun precursor. drums and other stuff that comes in at 0:36 is also neat. the hornet-adjacent lead add is a neat idea - having it have such a short sustain is a positive so it doesn't take up the entire soundscape. there's some subtle gating that starts 0:53 that i think is intentional and not limiter pumping - if so it should be a bit more obvious so that it's clear it's not unintentional. it's a cool effect.
there's a break right at the 1:00 minute mark that functions as a nice dovetail. schala theme comes in at 1:18. the beat here is nice and reminiscent of the ethnic percs that are throughout CT's soundtrack, and the constant varying of elements helps the slower tempo and schala's slower pace of the melody. there's another cool transition involving gating, and we're into some VO stuff.
2:30 is the return of the Terra b theme, this section felt a little lacking in direction. i didn't like all of the countermelodic elements (some are not quite voiced well enough to feel normal), and the turbo-pan thing going on was a little much on headphones. i also felt it was lacking energy coming out of the VO break, at least partially because the bass was often not on the root. 3:03 brings back schala (and the iconic ascending harp scale) - initially pretty low energy still, but quickly escalating via a variety of percussive and synth elements. i don't know if stacking the bass with the melody works in this section, but it's an interesting change.
after this is the outro, which wanders a bit through the schala arp until it hits the final notes, and then it's done.
this is a vast improvement over the last version. there's a ton of variety and added content here from when i last heard it, and the mix is a lot better too. i think it lacks a bit of energy in the back half and wanders a bit more, but i love the feel of the first half and the overall track does a great job navigating these two monumental originals. great work.
 
 
YES

this is an exciting matchup of composer and remixer.
starts off with some smooth bass and lead work. actual drums come in at 0:27. there's some really delicate plucks going on here that i really liked. beat drops at 0:55 and there's a slow build back up with some funky chords to mix it up in there. doubletime beat at 1:22 feels really good under the more disparate melodic elements in this section. the track trucks through more Aurora Magnitude with some really fun synth work to a second break at 2:17.
this break serves as a nice shout chorus to transition to the second interlude of Thicket Prism, and also to transition back down from doubletime to the original tempo. 3:27 was really nice. 3:33 was the last big hit, and we get some more plectral bells over the AM chords before it's done.
looking at the overall mixing, as expected there's a lot of detail work that's highlighted throughout. i did notice that there's a lot of body in the low mid range, like around 100hz, for most of the track. this doesn't make it feel cluttered but it is certainly more dense than i'd have expected from some other tracks by timaeus.
this is an obvious pass to me. the two tracks mix together very well and the realization here is excellent. it's an enjoyable listen that doesn't do the mind-bending chord stuff that truong often does but still delivers on a high-quality product. excellent work.
 
 
YES

opens with a kick-heavy beat and pads. there's a lot going on in the bottom 100hz and it doesn't have a ton of punch like i'd expect, and is somewhat dull. a synth bass comes in (in the same octave as the pad), and this progresses towards a break at 0:39 that adds some arps. there's some nice automation on the autopanned arp that works towards the front, although the panning is so wide it's a little confusing on headphones. this section drags a touch as it goes on as not a lot is going on during it, and there's not a lot to bring it back to the original outside that descending bassline (which isn't super unique).
the remixer puts the screws in at 1:16 and we get a lot more going on and a big beat right there. again there's not a lot used from the original outside that initial descending lick (no arp, none of the actual melody line). there's another break with some guitar at 1:55 - that was pretty fast getting back to the build - and again this section feels like it drags a bit as it kind of just is a repeated pattern over and over, and there's no crescendo or anything to build energy, just adding new instruments after a few bars. i'd love to hear some more automation like what you had the first time around, adding in additional elements and building energy towards your big payoff chorus at 2:33.
2:33 hits and we get the solo that was called out in the writeup. there's some fun licks in here but overall i'd want to hear more movement and leaning into the chords themselves some more. there's some repetition in here too which is a bummer - this is your time to shine creatively!
there's not really an ending, it just hits a note and it's done. there's a loud blap at the end that i think is the result of your volume automation not going to the end of the track.
this is a neat idea! i like the synth-rock vibe - so many people just make lavender town creepy (or totally blasted-out EDM), so the darkwave/synth rock feel is a neat one that definitely has legs. and i like a lot of your choices for instrumentation. i feel like right now this is a great framework, and what's needed next is some more glam. i'd love to hear more from the actual lavender town original (there's only really one synth line used throughout the track - i think there's room to use more!), and i'd love to hear a lot more ear candy in each section - especially the transitions. lastly i think that the track sounds a bit dull throughout, and finding a way to keep the kick meaty without having it walk all over some of your other synth elements would really help the mix pop. i'm sure @Chimpazilla can give some suggestions about the mix.
this isn't there yet! but it's a great start. the workshop discord can definitely help this get moving.
 
 
NO

In the shadows, we stay busy. ;-)
Joining us as a Sage, we now have @Treyt, who's shown off a lot of skills, enthusiasm, and potential since his fateful forum post nearly three years ago!
We're proud to announce some staff promotions with the twin magic of Sages @pixelseph & @paradiddlesjosh stepping up to become two of our newest judges! We had some fun internally joking that they were a package deal, yet I'm happy to say they both independantly have done well and proven themselves capable to help us out in this new capacity on the panel!
We've also honored to have another judges panel addition in @jnWake, who cut his teeth in OCR way back and has massively grown since becoming a Dwelling of Duels regular! All three of the new judges should help us NO every VGM arrangement submitted to us with more speed, politeness, and class. ;-D
Be sure to use our resources in the Workshop forums and our #workshop Discord channel and you may just get some feedback from our new staffers!

hemo, emu, and myself were involved with this. i was specifically only involved with the lining up and processing of the vocal parts and one fifteen-second section on sax, so it's not like i was doing a lot of arranging or mastering myself. i'm comfortable approaching this from a critic's perspective and not as a contributor given that i came into the project as late as i did.
i'll note that almost every element was performed live.
opens with a very cinematic pop, then we get some beautifully performed harp. the choir parts are imo too quiet and don't come through the mix well (this is partially on the performers not having developed formants and partially due to mix imo). 0:50 gives us the 'impending doom' section from the original, and the build into 1:25 is super exciting and intense. the horn riff right after is really great too, but is a bit overused in several other areas of the song immediately following that rhythmic pattern. 1:49's recap of the chorus section is nice and intense, but i felt this section didn't have enough beef in the bass to really feel as powerful as it could have.
there's a transition to the bridge section at 2:19, and this is nice and light as a contrast. it gets a little messy from an auditory standpoint at about 2:47 (i think the guitars aren't quite as light on their feet as they could be here, and the distortion hangs a bit). there's an even lighter section with some oboe at 3:03 - the vibrato on the oboe isn't super clear and would have been great if it could have been wider and have some more body to it.
some rising action at 3:18 that eventually includes some voices. this section was a little earth kid-heavy and that's actually probably my fault for not reining in her power notes a bit. i really liked the section at 4:02 - both the voices and in the very charismatic background elements throughout. we get some guitars at 4:33 - this entrance sounds super dope. i wish that the choir behind this was fuller as well, especially in the lower voices, to support it more.
there's some insanity right after this in the backing parts, and the choir here sounds really full so that's great. we also finally get the big sephiroth chant that we've all wanted! aeroprism's voice really pops here imo and sounds fantastic. there's some really nice flute flourishes in this section too. this is, like, 90 seconds solid of just incredible stuff. easily my favorite section.
there's a big build starting at 6:45. most of the men's voices here are hard to hear (this is again a formant thing), which is a bummer as that section took a while to line up. i believe aeroprism's voice here relative to the other men is too loud (or maybe they're all too quiet?), but again that's on me as the guy that handled the vox blend. there's a huge orchestral build through here and that feels great. we get one last big chord and it's done, outside of some sfx at the very end.
this is outrageous and enormous and a wild undertaking. i get that some people are fatigued with the theme being The Video Game Orchestra Track, but the execution here is tremendous. for the most part, each section in this track is represented in a similar way that other arrangements of this original have used, but the technical proficiency, performance scope, and the way everything fits together isn't like any other representation of this theme i've ever heard. it's truly impressive. easily the best arrangement of this track i've heard since the FF7 project and Black Wing Metamorphosis (17.5 years ago!!!). i have nitpicks but nothing of substance. excellent work.
 
 
YES