prophetik music   Judges ⚖️

opens with the initial brass stabs from the original in the synths, with some interestingly-timed percussive elements around it (i can hear where they come from in the source, but still a bit confusing). the echoed or delayed hits don't sound like a roll as much as they do random attacks, which i don't think is intended. this drops pretty quick into a build with some more of the percussion hits in the right ear especially. guitar comes in around the 0:40 mark and builds into a pretty intense section at 0:49. i like the chugs here. a lead comes in with the melodic line at 1:02, but it's pretty buried. i like the filter work on it, and doubling it an octave down helps reinforce it, but it's still quiet and hard to hear. the switch at 1:16 helps make it be clearer as there's less going on behind it. it's still much heavier in the right ear through all of this, which becomes tiresome by about 1:45. lead becomes more clear around that point which is nice.
there's some falling action here with loads of ear candy and stuff jumping around the soundscape, which is fun. the same lead comes back at 2:09, but it's easier to hear this time as there's less competing with it. i liked the half-time section at 2:23 as a way to break it up without losing intensity, and 2:37's guitar lead sounds great. tone really cuts well. the doubled melody section is neat too, although i found the heavy vibrato that was added at the end to be a little off-putting.
there's some fun ensemble work to extend the phrase around 3:40-3:45, and then some repeated lines to finish it off. the vocal pad sustain past the last hit doesn't sound intentional.
this is a pretty intense take on the original. i like the driving feel throughout, and i like the breakdown around the 2:00 mark. i think the arrangement/adaptation really works well for this style. i found the lead at 1:02 to be very hard to hear initially, and the right-ear-heavy mix from about 0:45 through about 1:55 was pretty noticeable. i also don't think the ending was quite what was intended, and the intro's drum hits/rolls were very confusing and felt out of time.
i think all of these are really easy to update and fix, and i'd prefer to hear them handled before posting. i think that this is pretty close to the line and wouldn't be surprised for other judges to be ok with what's being presented, but i think especially the lead being inaudible for a minute is enough to hold it back for me.
 
 
NO

what a weird original.
opens with some interesting sound design. 0:30 does start to bring in some of the chord structure of the original, but it's pretty far afield from that. 1:05's ascending lines are more recognizable. the juxtaposition of the music box next to the synth leads is interesting. we get a beat around 1:43, and i like the space that the bass provides by not playing constantly here. the brass and sfx at 2:02 are surprisingly menacing when combined with the tempo change there.
2:19's original section is a bit of a break before we get back into a brass-heavy section. i don't really hear the A section in here, and the long swell on the brass instrument you're using becomes pretty obnoxiously clear. the 'b' section at 3:24 is a little clearer where it's coming from, and it functions as an outro.
i think you've really nailed the vibe you were looking for here, for sure. there's a real dark, intense thriller-style feel to what's going on. i'd say though that i really don't get anywhere near enough source to my ears, which is my main concern. i hear what i'd attribute to source at 0:51-1:15, 1:22-2:18, and 3:22-3:51, which is 109/255 seconds (43%). maybe i'm missing something here? i separately found the track to over-use those brass samples that really got exposed at around the 3:00 mark. but i liked the overall direction of the piece, and like i said earlier i think the vibe's great. i just don't think it has near enough source as compared to all the other references.
 
 
NO

some creepy bass effects to start, but the ice path bass line is clear right away when it comes in. there's a filtered build that's clearly going to go hard, and it hits at 0:41. band sound is a big, aggressive vibe that feels like it's in half-time, and there's some really fun gating and effecting to keep it feeling like that even through the initial break at 1:09. bongo tone is really unexpected and tbh doesn't feel like it fits into the rest of the super-synthetic vibe. the team rocket theme comes in right after this and really fits the feel well - what a great combo.
there's a bit of a break at 1:36 that's more of a drop and build - again, excellent work combining in the team rocket theme here - and at 1:55 we get a transition back to the ice path melody. this transition into this was a little rockier (no pun intended) in that the key didn't make immediate sense in my head listening to it. there's a big fall-off after this section at about 2:40, and we get some sfx before a slam transition back to team rocket for a few seconds before we close out on the ice path bassline again.
this is a fun ride! i really like the approach and how intense it is without relying on a fast tempo to bring the energy. there's a ton of details hidden in here that are fun to explore. excellent work combining two great themes.
 
 
YES

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

"Big downbeat honk using what sounds like low brass"   Just to clarify, this "honk" has a name, it is called a "braam" and it is very common in EDM productions.  It is indeed a low brass blast.  And yes the braams do sound like they've been heavily sidechained.... and the reason for that is... they have been heavily sidechained!  😁  HONK HONK!

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

won't be voting here, but wanted to note that hemo made this a pretty easy track to pick up and play on. 10/10 would collab again.
also, it's def 9/8, but also definitely very slow. the main beats in the first measure are the opening kick and then the two subsequent piano chords. dotted quarter note is about 60-62bpm.

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

opens with sustains and some (kinda cheesy) descending organ blocks. this is a nice patient intro that'd be home on several of the tracks off of Systematic Chaos by DT. the bass riff into band riffage with the tight kit behind it into a more complex version of the same thing is a classic escalation mechanic. bass tone in here is excellent, really like the bite.
vocals come in at 1:31. seph's clean vocals here could use more bite in the tone imo, or even possibly a touch of distortion to add some edge. the guitars are so biting here as is the backing vocals, so something with more edge would have worked really nice. the diction and pitching is great though, even through the melismatic passages. the electric squeal in the right ear at 2:13 is unsettlingly loud and hurt my ears, it's a cool idea but needed to be quieter.
i did the "ooh yeah" face at 2:25 - that double-time ensemble section right there is great, and it flows well into the 7/8 section right after it. there's a slam transition at 3:04 into...more of the same band stuff, which was a little surprising - i really expected an exploratory section after such a significant transition. there's a crunch at 3:49 that i thought was clipping but was just backing vocals being fried. after 4:00ish we get the ensemble section we've been waiting for. the organ here maybe needed a touch more room sound on it as it felt pretty dry (might just be the density of the backing parts).
there's another 'chorus' section and then we get into an extended break section. this starts with a Tristram-esque acoustic section around the second part of Fleeting Respite that is beautifully recorded and played. i liked the detail on the drum work here as well. there's a few weird notes that don't quite fit in the end of it, but it's mostly not a problem.
there's some more of the organ stacks around the big guitar slams (organ doesn't sound 100% in time), and some classic whoa-oh cyril stuff, and the backing guitar rhythm in here sounds pretty dope. i wouldn't have minded more verb on the vocals to help them be more choral and less like Hear N' Aid. we get a guitar solo after this that is excellent, and then a sudden ending that isn't particularly prepped. ending is kind of a let-down after such a big work - i'd actually have been fine with a fade-out as it's stylistically appropriate, but even a bigger fill going into that ending would have been nice.
this is a huge undertaking and it's a fantastic result. from a compositional perspective, this is superb - there's a ton of interweaving of the different elements, it's super fun without being medleyitis, there's loads of creative adaptation throughout, and the performance of it is excellent as well. the mix is overall really solid as well despite all the parts - there's a few nits here and there, but overall this sounds professionally produced. superb work.
 
 
YES

opening vox processing, specifically the verb, doesn't really fit the bassline's clarity. sounds a lot better when everything else is going. the bassline feels great here when the vocals come in especially. i also like the gated organ that's there as well. the trading between PB and LS through the first minute feels nice too. vocal harmonies come in at 1:22, and you can hear the compressor reacting to them being in there and pushing the backing elements back. the verb sounds kind of funny as well, like a pressure feeling. organ started to get overbearing in the 2:15 range, so it's nice to have the guitar parts come forward at 2:33. chord changes at 2:59 are welcome as it's been the (admittedly cool) LS bassline through most of the opening. prosody of "police" is weird (there are a few that are like this in this section but that's the one that stood out).
we get the first real big change to the song's timbre at 3:56 as we switch over to some EP (bass here has some intonation issues). the sidestick used at 4:25 has a ton of verb on it and doesn't sound like it's in the same place as the rest of the kit, but i like the brush work on the cymbals in here. an extended (repeated?) fill kicks off the end blow, and it's a fun one, lots of ensemble work which i am a sucker for. one last chord and it's done.
this is a really interesting combination. the SoR stuff is way more visible throughout, mostly due to Last Soul's bassline, but there's a lot of fun interweaving of the parts. i think i'm not a huge fan of the vocal treatment in some of the bigger ensemble parts, mainly due to how squeezed everything feels there - but there's a ton going on, and i doubt i could do better! i do really like the vocal approach throughout and think it fits the concept a lot. the swagger throughout feels great and i think that the piece as a whole definitely does what you set out to do. nice work.
 
 
YES

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