1. Re-harm experiment
   rationaljeff
2. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
3. 
   

rationaljeff: I like the piano part of your mix, and I like accords
TheoConfidor: Cool Idea

1. The Wolf Inside of Me
   GLL
2. Re-harm experiment
   rationaljeff
3. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor

Alright, here it is...

GLL - Sniping the 1st place vote, here. You took every bit of time to produce something good, and I personally feel it payed off. The singing was pretty good (although I'm not a fan of the artificial vocal effects, personally), and the mix was nice. However, the musical content was a bit lacking, in my opinion... I felt it fell a bit flat towards the end (last minute of music). Also, the entire mix seemed incredibly quiet compared to the other submissions here. That didn't take first vote from me, though - overall it was very well done :).

Rationaljeff - For a first remix, I found it to be awesome. The harmonic flavor that you gave the source was very sweet, giving it a personal flair that I didn't quite find in any other mix here (including my own...). The mix was clean and I found myself interested throughout the whole thing. Of course, it seemed a bit short IMO, but that's minimal. The sample quality was very nice, a well rounded mix overall. I didn't feel it quite trumped GLL's mix, but it got very close. Very well done - I hope to hear more from you later!

TheoConfidor - Great idea, but I felt the execution to be somewhat lacking. The samples really drug this one down (although the guitar was just fine)... I felt like they were a midi orchestra with good guitars. That aside, the mix was very entertaining and inspiring - it just didn't make the top of my charts. Nice use of the 'Heys' at the end :P.

This was a very full match-up. I'm glad the extension was there - thanks for that, Bundeslang!

1. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
2. The Wolf Inside of Me
   GLL
3. Run Before You Die
   bundeslang

I think the Hunger of the beast is a great interpretation to the original, plus I like the arrangement.

I think Wolf inside of Me has a great arrangement, but I thought the mix was a bit foggy and was hard to make out some of the harmonies, but extra points for having a wolf howl in the breakdown, very cool.

and

Run Before you die is just a fun piece.

1. Fullmoon Fantasy
   Brainstar
2. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
3. Re-harm experiment
   rationaljeff

The following isn't so much reasoning as it is random thoughts that came to mind while I listened.

bundeslang - Kind of a redundant description, innit? Anyway, I wonder what a continuous mix of all your entries would sound like. I might end up doing that, too. :)

rationaljeff - your entry would have been higher on my list if it weren't for the abrupt fade out at the end. Anyway, nice.

Brainstar - I had your track playing and ended up forgetting I was evaluating a compo. Luckily I remembered later. :D

Gario - LoL, you lose points for using "your" instead of "you're". I suppose I could of made a similar mistake under such circumstances... ;)

Anyone else I neglected to mention is either too awesome, of not awesome enough.

1. Slaying the Wolf
   Gario
2. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
3. The Wolf Inside of Me
   GLL

Bundeslang - I'm not voting for myself because that's not allowed.
Rationaljeff - Very nice song. It's hard to believe that this is your first remix. There's enough variation and the source is used in a nice way. In the last part, some thing aren't in melody.
Brainstar - Sweet start. The instruments are good. The song is a little empty and it uses the same nice instruments during the whole song. The last part is very good.
Gario - The start is very attractive, I like the background sampling a lot. The song is variating in a good way, but some samples are playing during the whole song.
TheoConfidor - Good song in a completely different way. It's really an aggressive song. The bassline rocks. The last part is a little different.
Setokaibarocket - This remix start very slow. Not much happends in the song. Still, it's not bad for sure.
GLL - Interesting start with some nice instruments. Like switch after the first minute. The vocals are good, they remind me of something. Not much happends in the last part.

I hate it sometimes that I can only give the top 3 a score.
Now I'll check out and edit the other votes.

1. Slaying the Wolf
   Gario
2. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
3. Re-harm experiment
   rationaljeff

Gario - I'll admit, I'm partial because you seem to be trying to imitate the styles of me and Prophecy; namely, big choirs in a techno song. I did rather like the arrangement, although some of the techno sounds you picked could have been richer or more exciting. Overall seemed to be mixed well. Was just a bit repetitive, mainly with the percussion; but your changes in the arrangement kept things interesting. Not the best techno song, but pretty solid overall.


TheoConfidor - I nearly voted you first were it not for my personal bias against rock music (I admit I played with the genre last compo, but I was really just messing around); I probably would change my mind if I were to hear some competent vocals to go with the guitars.

I thought also you lacked on originality and on mixing/production. I've heard enough orchestral rock pieces that this seemed pretty cookie-cutter in its presentation. Besides that, I hear various mixing issues: too many dry samples, especially in the orchestral department. Some dynamic reverb certainly wouldn't hurt to make the orchestra seem farther away than the guitar.; also I think each instrument could have been eq'd better cause I hear some things getting in each others' ways (also some things should sound richer and bigger). However, For a one week compo this submission is extremely competent.

Besides that, I liked the arrangement overall. The guitar playing was pretty flawless and definitely the highlight of the song. I assume the drums are live, although they sound a bit weak next to the guitar. The orchestral samples are decent enough although like I said, some reverb and eq'ing couldn't hurt.


RationalJeff - I picked this song pretty much because I really liked the choice of chords in the piano and how they worked well with the bass. Everything was mixed pretty well. Arrangement was pretty interesting, although I didn't like the fast chord changes so much in the middle.

I need to mention setokaibarocket. The groove was fantastic, but I just couldn't bring myself to vote for you since you seem to have forgotten to include the song melody (did you forget or you uploaded the wrong version?). Had I heard this mix expanded better with some solid vocals to go with it, I probably would have voted this first. If next time you ever want to compose some lyrics and need someone to rap/sing, feel free to ask. I'd be glad to help.

I should also mention Fullmoon fantasy by Brainstar. Your performances were pretty flawless. Very clean recording, very well put together. However, the arrangement had too many issues for me to consider this. You really need to spend the bulk of your time composing/arranging a good song first before heading to the studio. Simply playing things in different octaves would have solved most of your issues (maybe use a tuba or french horn for certain parts). When you have things playing different melodies in the same register it's very easily to get conflict.

1. Fullmoon Fantasy
   Brainstar
2. Re-harm experiment
   rationaljeff
3. Slaying the Wolf
   Gario

Brainstar - Fullmoon Fantasy
This piece is quite stellar! It sounds like the strings are sequenced and that you played the brass instruments live, but I could be mistaken. The brass/string harmonies are really lovely, especially as they develop more towards the end. The only thing I would really suggest improving is the intro. Four-bars of string pad doesn't properly set up the listener for the aural delight that is to follow. I definitely look forward to hearing more music from you, with live instruments!

bunde-slang - Run Before You Die
The low-fi flavor of the synths and percussion creates a nice crunchy sound, which I like. Musically, this remix doesn't develop very much. Since the original was a very simple piece, it almost begs for a little bit of interpretation and musical development, which would improve your remix a lot. Also, the plucky synth that comes in around 1:26 really didn't seem to fit with the rest of your instruments.

Gario - Slaying the Wolf
Although I still wish this piece varied a little more from the source tune, I have to say that I am quite happy with the production. The sounds you use are all good quality, the arrangement has a good flow and keeps up a solid dance energy. The mixing and mastering are all quite nice. This is definitely the best trance remix of the source tune. Nicely done!


GLL - The Wolf Inside of Me
First of all, I think it's really cool that you decided to do a vocal trance remix. Vocal trance has so much potential, and can be incredibly beautiful when done well. Having said that, the production definitely needs a bit of work. In particular, the vocals sit down too low in the mix and have way too much auto-tune on them.

rationaljeff - Re-harm experiment
Some of the instrumentation is cool. I especially like some the musical ideas expressed by the piano. As a prog-lover, I think that the rhythms during the breakdown are pretty sweet. However, this piece sounds very mechanical and lacks the dynamicism of the organic soundscape you are trying to create. Here's a tutorial for making sampled instruments sound more life-like: http://www.zirconstudios.com/instruments.html

setokaibarocket - Lycanthropy
This piece doesn't seem to develop, nor does it seem to integrate any melody. Writing some varying sections or at least adding some melodic instrumentation would help.

1. Fullmoon Fantasy
   Brainstar
2. The Wolf Inside of Me
   GLL
3. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor

Brainstar's was probably my personal favorite for inclduing live instruments other than the standard guitars and basses. It also seemed the most lonesome of all the pieces, which in its own way tipped the balance.
GLL's vocals and mixing were fairly interesting, but could have used a little more dynamic shift. The background got a little bit on the stale side after a while.
Theo- You have got to get a slightly better recording mic or whatever, because this was awesome, but mediocre sound quality/muddy lows on the live instruments set you behind.

1. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
2. The Wolf Inside of Me
   GLL
3. Slaying the Wolf
   Gario

Nice round everyone, was hard to sort out my votes. I don't have much time online so I gotta be brief:

1st: TheoConfidor
Really nice cover of the track, very epic =D I like it a lot, mastered very well, all fits well together, and it's evident that a lot of time and effort went into it. All in all, it paid off, and you get my 1st place vote =)

2nd: GLL
Another really good track, I really liked it =p I like the bass throughout it and the vocals are very nice and fit well with it, though they maybe have a little too much treble. If the track was perhaps mastered better, and maybe made a bit harder, it could've taken out 1st place for me.

3rd: Gario: Has more energy than GLL's track, and I think is a bit harder, but overall I didn't get into it as much as GLL's mix, so it gets third. Still a nice mix though =D

1. Re-harm experiment
   rationaljeff
2. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
3. Lycanthropy
   Hardbeat_Acolyte

Nice round, great to see that many participants enter to remix an indie game track.
And as a consequence, picking was hard.

1st-Rationaljeff: Awesome & professional sounding track!
Way too good for a first mix... but he didn't precise if he had done music before, so has he?
I've got absolutely nothing to criticize, it's a flawless victory for jeff.
Plus, when it's executed that well, I could really listen to that particular music genre for hours.

2nd-TheoConfidor: Great symphonic rock prog remix.
Very fast paced as it should be, the mix is clean and powerful.
This track is Epic with a capital 'E', period.
Should I had been more into that genre, I would have ranked it first.
But after all, voting is only a matter of musical preferences & personal choices.

3rd-Setokaiba: Very much the approach I would have opted for, should I had been able to enter.
Laid back, calmly played melody, with deepth.
Seconded by nice drums & a good low bassline to support the whole.
Only complain is that the mix is a bit too low-freq heavy, especially on the bass part.

That's about it.
Sorry for others, but when i have the choice between many genres, trance ends-up last as it is a huge turn-off for me.
That said, I noticed all tracks were really well mixed & mastered.
Looks like competition (& production) is getting to the next level.
And next round will be even better I guess! ;)

1. The Wolf Inside of Me
   GLL
2. Hunger of the Beast
   TheoConfidor
3. Re-harm experiment
   rationaljeff

Was so hard to pick! I eventually went with a number system to make up my mind. I'll have to explain it in the thread, after the results are posted.