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the intro was actually quite engaging. unfortunately it led into a section that was characterized by warcraft II musica and it really turned me off. the harpsichord idea is very medival and nice but in all honesty, this just turns into a crunching, souless attempt at a really nice arrangement idea. the play with modulations is intriguing as it sets it apart from other arrangements that stay in one key and chill out. i like the idea however, like TO pointed out, that violin is too dominant. you get sick of it real quick. especially since it hardly sounds like a violin, anyways. try some embellishments in the lead part to humanize it a bit. there is too much static energy in this. that pizz in the background at times get bassy and muddy and then sounds something like a bucket of water sloshing about in the background. haha from 1:00 to 1:20 this is straight orc music, bro sorry but it is. rework the arrangement, get less orc and more human life in this and you got some pretty medieval shit goin here. NO

the intro is great but you needed to get that swirly background synth out of there once the drums got involved. i am usually the proponent of style and personalization but that is almost borderline obnoxious. you should have given the drums more bite. i'm not sure what is truly wrong with the mix, either so i'm with TO on this but i'm gonna try and point my finger at something and i'll have to say its the direction. you pull out of a potentially intense phrase to drop into a very bland and meandering section with that odd swirly synth behind it. then there's an electric guitar? i thought my music was schizophrenic but this is just all over the place. if i'm not mistaken about what you are attempting here, you have to realize that fearless arrangement still needs character. you can bounce around ideas like that but without the cohesion that a backbone gives a track, it seems like a random bag of surprises and while that might be entertaining in theory, it is not accessible even by the most liberal minded music entusiasts. sounds like something from the soundtrack to goldeneye except only in the eerie space that dominates the track. the n64 sounds and the breathing and all that is neat but the music does not carry its own weight to validate them and this headless beast asphyxiates on a nice attempt that is coupled with inadequate execution. NO

i think the intimacy is accomplished by the production. it is very gentle and, while spacious, it is snug within the soundscape and is easy to warm to. very good work there. i didn't like the background strings in the beginning but they sound much better in the meat of the piece right as the percussion picks up. i can see how this can be considered aimless; there is a distinct blandness to the track but i think that is where it works. its minimalism gives it dignity, that sort of deal where by default, each note carries with it more value and likewise is more effective. admittedly, it is difficult to listen through more than a couple times unless i need some relaxing sounds. i dig it YES

yikes the instruments are terrible. this is probably my favorite zanarkand arrangement as it is full of worthwhile musical ideas and solid arrangement. some of it seems superfluous at times but overall, it is daring in ways that zanarkand rarely is this needs either better sampling, more attention to the existing waveforms to humanize them or, as malcos suggested, get the school recording. currently feels too stale which is awkward considering the dynamic of the arrangement arrangement is great, the production quality is very short and this needs to be resubmitted NO

like whats been said before, the intro is strangely flat despite the atmosphere being badass. the track creeping in is a good touch. i thought those drums were going to pick up and drive you into something with energy and instead, it sorta loses its momentum and cruises. still nothing that grabs my attention although the atmosphere is soothing. the drums are hardly in the soundfield and really don't give the piece anything substantially significant truthfully, though, the major issue is the structure. like zircon has already mentioned, there is almost no need for the middle section... it hardly serves as a climax. the outtro feels awkwardly abrupt and even more anticlimactic. while the atmosphere of the track is fantastic, almost all other areas leave a lot to be desired. this feels sparse and empty. this lacks a bit of texture... something to sharpen some of the foggy instrumentation. NO

well, in retrospect i realize that i should not have included the "NO" at the end of my comment. it was pretentious and i do not deny that but i also, naturally, trust my impulses because there would be no reason not to. so i apologize for the vote. you're right; a judge should not vote on his own piece and i ought to have known better that does not, however, go to say that i am not bothered by some of these shifty panel attitudes. i find it troubling that while my only caustic comment was aimed directly at pixie, it was not her who took offense to it but two unrelated bystanders, one of which has a history of being hotheaded (engaging in a prolific conflict with graylightning is akin to having a problem with diaper-stinky babies). back to donkeys.

I'll be sure to keep my arrogant, Australian, gay donkey to myself then. nah, the donkey ain't no trouble; just be sure to leave a muzzle on her

I can pretty much say I don't. That doesn't change the fact that I liked the piece and think it should be posted, and also that I think it's a stupid idea for a judge to be allowed to judge his own work. great! at least now we both know that i haven't ever liked your arrogant aussie fag ass, either. this has nothing to do with each other's music (i assume this because i actually like your music a lot) but the less we say to each other, the happier i am.

BGC - it really had nothing to do with your vote; i don't even know you, guy. i've outgrown believing in the easter bunny and santa claus a long time ago and as a result, i'm not offended by a rejection. hell, nausea lovestroke was a very personal track and it was rejected from the site and it didn't get under my skin. my statement that i make music for personal reasons before entertainment is a safe statement. besides, this wouldn't, by any stretch of the imagination, be the first track rejected from the site so yea, i mean this in the most straightforward, honest way: it is really not that big of a deal. if it goes on, it goes on. if it doesn't, it doesn't. ======== haha, i didn't say it wasn't pretentious. however, perhaps the fact that i submitted the piece BEFORE i was reinstated as judge plays a role. what if being exposed to the terms of the guidelines has made me question my own track? do you really have any entitled authority to assume another's motivations? i was inspired to vote NO on my own track because i agreed with most of zircon's reasoning behind his NO. ...TO, buddy it isn't entirely pretentious, to be true. if anything, the ability to reject my own work is not a sign of personality error but of a trait that maybe you simply don't possess and can't relate with. i have the ability to be unnaturally subjective even towards my own music. your willingness to open your mind and accept my explanation sits squarely on your shoulders. how do you like me now?

oh don't get me wrong, larry, it wasn't an emotional thing at all. there really is already an expectation that my personal style is not congruent with the site guidelines that goes back a ways. this is far from the first tack to not meet the guidelines so i am not surprised. in all honesty, i think my vote definetly should count. you're right, part of the reason the track doesn't bother you as much is because you are familiar with my work. that said, it is what it is. i say count my vote. it is still a valid vote because it is my opinion (and opinion is valued here, no?). however, i will comment on this: while i am touched by your adjuration to keep it, i want to clarify that i do not write music for the site or any site for that matter. it isn't going anywhere, darling.

ultimately, this is too far out there to successfully reach many listeners who, undoubtedly, will have trouble getting past the intonation and gutsy lack of uber-elitist musicality. contrary to common belief, i intend 95% (the other 5% is unaccounted for but has at times been attributed to divine intervention and/or random luck) of what i do and will not refine and resubmit. i think some of you have, again, missed the point but that's alright; it has come to be expected. you leave me no choice; this simply isn't up to site standards NO

i've been out of tune from day one till today. what's suddenly the big deal?

well, interesting. i normally hate hans zimmer type orchestrations but this didn't really strike me entirely as one. i was under the impression for most of it that i was listening to a jason hayes track of world of warcraft. i guess that may be more of the same, really. who knows but either way, your stylistic choice is accurate. you're right about these sources too; i'm gonna have to pay them a visit. although i would have heard these themes far more murderous in a more basil pouledouris conan the barbarian sort of suit. but i digress. it sounds clean. very nice on the ears despite its dynamic... the brass is very disruptive and effective in being so. further, the instruments were very servicable so there wasn't the typical problem of the brass sounding absolutely ridiculous. while brass, in my mind, is the hardest to appropriately synthesize, that was pretty decent brass. this structurally serves as good game music for a warcraft type game, for sure. it has the same epic hans zimmer feel and it works well. then it goes out with a very somber but proud denoument and voila! you've got an ending i think its good. count it YES

do it. YES

the piano intro is interesting on a couple of premises. it is eerie and doubled with a harpsichord before being layered with a spooky lead. all in all, the intro is gripping and telling. unfortunately, it stuck around too long. A minute and a half intro of that nature before getting into the meat can do either one of two things if not done convincingly fresh; it can either lose the audience's interest (not attention) before they get to the meat or it can lose their attention. luckily for you, judges don't lose attention because we have to hear it through. that said, the idea when things get krazy is great. the guitar synths are really bad. the transition into it implies some fairly heavy metal and in order to do that, you've got to have a better guitar than that... don't give me the synth guitar excuse cuz i've heard amazing synth guitar. this is simply not even a guitar to begin with - the celtic lead is a great idea but awkward sounding because of the actual instrument's quality. the last thing you want happening to a good arrangement is killing it with your instruments. get a real guitarist to play this because it almost does kill it. the drums are very awkward, as well; i don't feel them at all. they lose their service as a rhythmic tool and become more or less a placeholder with a lot of unnecessary fills. not good for percussion. another issue is the errant harmony accompaniments. there are all sorts of synths jumping all over the place behind the synth guitars and i can't tell what they are doing; too incoherent. i think your arrangement has some great ideas for the heavy section but it needs to be better executed and laid out. too many ideas stacked on top of each other makes it very cluttered. the transition back into the piano is interesting. at first, it rubs me the wrong way... it feels too abrupt , too sudden then it seems perfect. the outro is surprisingly better than the intro. think about making the intro as long as the outro. the effect of the outro is that i want to rewind/fast forward to hear it again. a very effective musical phrasing is one that gets the listener moving back to it and listening to it again because it warrants exclusion in the soundscape. nothing on this track does this with the exception of the ending. the intro would have had it been a bit shorter. you've got to tease your listener, in essence. it feeds interest. i like the direction you are taking the original and for that, i implore you to consider working on it a bit and resubmitting. but for now, this isn't servicable. NO

fairly bland in presentation and execution. great idea to mold the bitty synth lead with the groovy jazz backdrop, gives it a sort of joshua morse feel to it. unfortunately, the arrangement is still fairly conservative (the transitions are the major compositional pitfall for the track) and the rhythm in the back in uninspired and the lead simply is not dynamic enough to work. i do like this but it basically doesn't groove when it ought to. this is something i want to see resubmitted with more edge and more movement. it is good on a lot of levels (arrangement is fresh, the ambient moments are great) but fails on a couple key ones (rhythm is weak, percussion too thin, not enough creativity in presentation) NO (resubmit)

this is actually really nice. it flows very smoothly. the arrangement is excellent as i think i can recognize some of this music from the game and while this is simplistic it is not overly conservative the groove makes this very edible. it is weird, as well, and the style ultimately gives the track most of its personality. i know this isn't going to get many yes votes because i know our site standard and the nature of its implementation. to me this is a pity because this is good art if not "an acceptable remix" and while that is sad, take solace in the fact that you accomplished a good piece of music, nonetheless the point that will fail this; i love the eq but it is gonna be too muddy for most. this is very silent hill, very eerie, empty, uncomfortable but unfortunately, it will ultimately sink the ship like steve martin in my blue heaven: i'm wit you. what i mean is, i'm wit you. NO

i think where this isn't doing too well is in how firm and static it feels. the arrangement is too straight forward and the transitions, while working, are not particularly interesting. the instrumentation is the real culprit behind the firmness and static in the track; it feels lifeless to a degree of course it is chrono trigger and rides the coattails of the source but put some inferior source material in its place and watch it sound terrible. NO

so yea it truly is in the pudding; the transitions are the most telling looks that this piece gives us. they are done with flow, touch and musicality. this is what, ultimately, shows up missing from a lot of other submissions. there is immense musical cohesion here and its presentation caps the assault. excellent work. YES

umm simply go to his website. vote coming soon.

ok so there are a lot of good ideas here. i just am not sure what's missing because nothing is. this does some really good things with the lead synth that actually sounds a lot like the original snes "creepy ghost" lead. and then the original work later on especially around 2.00 - 2.30 is all so very good. i think the only weakness of the track is the lack of dynamic. i don't think it is worthy of sinking a ship that is otherwise lurking in the shadows of some eerie midnight cove. but i had to mention it you succeed at conjuring an image of a haunted castle. the ending is killer. it leaves you hanging on a thread of misplaced hope. the fact that the track starts off conservatively then ventures out seems to bother others but to me seems like a very practical and intelligent way to interpret something... gradual development... its very momentous and it gives it command. that trait is far underappreciated along with the ability to conjure images in your head but not on my watch. i'm not going to hesitate on this one. YES

well now that my eyes are dizzied by your novelette, let's see how my ears fare. this is actually quite groovy for "no musical background" especially when peculiarly followed in chapter 1 of the track's written prologue with "aside from eight years of orchestra." well you know, that makes for a pretty significant musical background. how old are you? old enough i'm assuming where 8 years could make up anywhere between 33-50% of your life. this is good. but if it will falter, it will be because creatively speaking, the arrangement is not active. the arrangement from the perspective of instrumentation grooves very nicely. good use of the original attributes of the source... it gives the piece a commanding sense that is missing when original source material is forced into a differently shaped container. however, the piece's structure doesn't really give it any positive points. given also the simplicity of the instruments and a significant lack of workable orchestration, it is hard to give it a yes. i did enjoy it and think you definetly have enough musical background to have solid musicality and only need to adapt to a new facet of music which is creating it and presenting it. you are at least starting on that path now and if this is any indication, you're on the right track NO

i absolutely hate judging castlevania tracks. the whole thing is forever cursed. for one, i think castlevania music ought to be considered a genre of its own. it is very characteristic because as gothic and heavy as it is, it is also very likely (i probably ought to know if this is true or not) written mostly by bassists because the music is also very bassline driven unlike most gothic, metal music. i'm ranting. my point is, it is unique but because its initial presentation as console music was already coined, it is increasingly difficult for remixers interpret it without sounding exactly like the original on several different points. and still manage to entertain because the source is so good. and i dont' even like castlevania music. to the mix. no way, i've heard half of these arrangement ideas in half of the arrangements of this particular track before, dude. you've got to come with it a little different if you're gonna be barkin up the castlevania tree and tackling a very popular track off of it. the breakdowns around .50s into the piece and consequently through out are probably everybody's favorite stretch of the original and at least you attempted to do something a little different and odd wit it but it wasn't enough to save the track. the little groove you got goin around 1.40 is kinda cool, too but again not enough. there are other problems too like the drums throughout the second half of the track. they sound like midi rip doubled up on itself with some nasty misused delay. either way, not effective and a huge turnoff. the track doesn't have enough merits to get past me. maybe it's the track's curse, the game's curse, but there's something inherently hard about qualifying a remix such as this one. you really have to come with it in order to break through the crowd and grip the audience. NO

i expected something completely different when i was downloading this. i expected a groovy, urban tour-de-force and i'm not sure if my decision will be influenced by my fall from anticipation but it might not even matter. there are a few glaring problems with this track. one if how empty it sounds. the rhtythm guitars that you have panned on two different moons leaves the bass completely naked in the middle with a unintimidating and thin drumkit. it makes your song sound spread like butter on toast. then there's the solo. too much like trying to be randy and not actually coming close. perhaps a less ambitious, more coherent guitar solo would have worked better in the track instead of one that misses a lot of parts rhythmically and melodically. i liked the rock n roll energy of the track but the performance and mixing issues don't help the track's cause. and i didn't even manage to mention the arrangement yet. which doesn't do anything but play the same groove throughout and then the crazy ass solo and then back to the groove to close out. there is very little writing in this track, basically. sorry. NO

i was taken aback by how the intro approached the song. it wasn't a pleasant feeling. the arrangement does not work well together and it isn't helped by the "wood bass" that just plods along the track. you had a couple of good ideas when you wanted to introduce the mario theme. but it is ultimately lost in a surrounding lake of inaccessability. it's daring and i can give you that. but i can't honestly say that this is ready for OCR. i dig your flowy desire to ramble musically and the simplicity of two instruments is an enticing notion but this is not developed, it doesn't particularly even sound nice on the ears and so it ultimately gets a NO. doesn't go to say that it doesn't have merits. it does. you need to work on your production and presentation. half the battle in making good music is in the presentation. substance is lost if it is hiding beneath a pile of mediocore rubbish. so a poorly presented (mixed, produced, arranged) track housing a favorite idea/phrasing of yours will hide this little gem like a stack of hay can hide a needle. don't do it.