Streets of Desolation

[AgentXBR]

Hi everyone.
I'm newbie here and I would like to show my job.
This is my version of Streets of Desolation from Batman of NES.
I hope you enjoy.
 

 

[Gario]

Haha, this is on the panel, as we speak. Here's my thoughts on it:

EVAL-ish

Batman first stage... Yeah, that's a great source. I'm surprised I haven't heard a straight metal arrangement of this yet, as it works wonders like this. Heavy, some real great licks and solos throughout and just does so many neat things with the source later, this track does an already great source justice.

It does have a few areas that are rough around the edges. The bass is pretty oppressive in this, first and foremost. I can understand to a point, since it's a pretty iconic part of the source, but it really could've been mixed behind the lead guitar better than it is here. As it stands, it sonically gets in the way of the other instruments, such as the guitar (which sounds like it's being drown by the bass and drums). Looking at the waveform, there's also a bit of overcompression that occurs from time to time. It looks like there was a pass on the compressor at the end, as there's a lot of headroom, so you might consider releasing a version without that last pass on the compressor. It's loud enough, so there's really no need to compress it for volume, here

The strings are not the best, but honestly they are not a huge focus at all in this. They rarely stand out, for better or worse; They could be better, but I don't think they bring down the track much at all.

I really enjoy the arrangement, though; even before the soloing at 2:10, I'd argue it takes it in a pretty different direction from the source at 1:05. It slows it down, cuts it to half time and sounds more like a power ballade for Batman than the straight thrash the rest of the track presents. It's a really solid approach. The ending could've been better, but what's there isn't the worst.

TL;DR: Mix the bass so it isn't nearly as oppressive, mix the guitar so it's a bit more prominent, tinker with the rest of your mix so that overcompression doesn't occur nearly as much and maybe see if you can give it a more definitive ending. It's a great arrangement, though, and there is a LOT going for it, but those mixing and production issues may hold it back a bit. It's a fairly strong arrangement, though, so it's not dead in the water, but fixing the production would make this soar through the panel.

[AgentXBR]

Thanks Gario.
I'll work on it.