FEEDBACK - Chosen for the 2nd round
This one was extremely difficult to judge. The song is complex and there are several routes to choose from. Giving you the DI tracks and clean synths allowed you to shape the character of the sound in a drastic way. Some of you chose to go the way of the rough, some chose to drift away from it. I wanted both approaches to have a fair judgement, so I had to spend some time trying to understand every submission independently from all the others, including my own vision when necessary.
Additionally, I removed the names from every track and gave numbers instead. I didn't check the names until I was writing the feedback.
I based my choices not only on technichal skill but also on how the song just made me feel on the first impression and after a few listens. I'll try to explain myself the best I can and be helpful.
Here are the chosen participants for round 2, in no particular order:
donkeyt
You added a lot of stuff to the production, and for the most part I loved it. Outstanding atmosphere. Needs a lot of polishing but it's working great for the song.
Punchy and aggressive drums, I like them but maybe the snare is poking out a little too much. The kick is a bit subby, especially in contrast with the snare's heavy atack. Try balancing those 2 out.
Good job on the bass. I kind of miss a little bite, and a little less thickness. Just a hair.
The vocals are great but they're on top of everything else and don't let the music transpire. Try blending them better, backing off a little bit on the vocal effects, rebalancing it with the band.... It also feels like there's a little congestion around the 2-3kHz area. This area needs a lot of attention.
Superb work with the synths, but I'm kinda missing the eagle synth at least as a transition between sections.
Last section: What I said about the male vocals applies here as well. I like the transition ("Safe in a place...") but could you push the vocals back/roll some highs to create some dynamics?. I love the build up fo the synths up to the drum fill. I want the feeling of building up and exploding a bit more featured, though I understand it is a long part. Also, don't leave the guitars and the bass that loud after the drums stop. Feature the synths. Either fade out or filter the guitars.
MedII
Hard not to headbang at this one. Great job. Back off a bit on the delays of the YT voice clips ("He will not divide us"), though.
Nice stutter on the guitar harmonics, but make them more like ear candy, less noticeable, not that upfront.
Perfect balance and tone overall. The drums are rocking, the guitars are powerful and the voice is perfectly mixed in.
Last section: Perfect transition. Voice a tad to thick, let it fly a little more. Very pleasing combination of guitars and synths. Fade out or filter the guitars/bass after the drums go away. Let the voice and the synths carry on to the end.
I've got very few criticisms. You took my rough and elevated it to a great mix. Just try polishing the rough edges and put some final "fairy dust" on it.
Mork
Not a fan of the roomy sound of the intro. Try favouring the music a little more over the voice clip.
I love the tone and the dynamics of the mix, but it feels like the kick and the bass are somehow dragging down the momentum. I wouldn't say they're fighting, maybe the bass lacks a bit of definition. And I like how the kick pops out, but it feels a bit overwhelming after a while.
Great work with the synths, nice automation, but they feel a little dry in my opinion, especially the bouncy ones coming from the sides.
Last section: I think the transition has too much stuff on it. It feels bigger than the chorus that precedes it. Make it more intimate so it explodes when the drums come in. Fade out the guitars after the drums stop so they disappear before the voice and synths. Other than that, I like how you introduced the percussion, it's not very obtrusive. It sounds big and majestic, I like it very much.
Marc Clement
Okay this is a wildcard. It deviates a lot from the original concept but it sounds so insanely good and has so much character that I couldn't leave it out. This could perfectly work out if we had the chance to have some back and forth about the final sound, and build up on those ideas. We don't have that luxury, so I'll try to sum it all up the best I can.
Guitars - I like the idea, but I'd love you to dirty them up a bit more. Not full on distortion, but something QOTSA would do (check out "If I had a tail"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjYZToX ... iRathMIeLv), or maybe some Orange amp/cab simulation.
Kick pokes out just a hair too much. The snare verb has some changes through the song that feel a little too noticeable. On the chorus it looks way more dry than in the verses, which is distracting. I'm fine with the weird verb, just doesn't feel yet fully integrated with the rest of the mix. Actually, maybe the snare is causing the drums to pump a bit weird on the chorus, check it out.
A bit safe on the main vocals. Try some slaps. Stellar work on all the background vocals though.
Last section: Nice transition, maybe the piano a little too "in your face". Very nice work on the vocal, it's a shame that it gets a little buried by the piano (I think you can make it a tad less loud after the transition and get away with it), and the percussion. Try hiding them a bit more. The snare creates an interesting openness in the sound, just try to polish it so it works here and through the rest of the song. Nice ending, btw.
I think you reinterpretated the song in a way that ticked with me, just check out that snare and that weird pumping on the chorus, along with the rest of the feedback. But it definitely has character and says something to me. Great job.
Coiled Ear
Fade in the intro in some way, or at least don't keep it static.
Very nice balance, open sound yet kicking in the middle. Outstanding work with the textures of the guitars, synths and overheads. The whole picture is great, but maybe it has a little too much of "smiley eq curve" if you know what I mean. It feels full and more balanced in the choruses though, but you could polish that difference.
Nice bass, love the punch and definition, maybe it doesn't need to be that upfront?
The voice feels a little too heavy on the 3-5kHz, maybe it's helping to create that bump. It feels both small and on top of the band at the same time. When the distorted voice comes in, it feels way bigger and blended with the band (though there's also a lot of fizz and noise, obviously).
Last section: Voice a tad too distorted. The second voice can work, just try polishing it and getting it out of the way of the main voice, which needs to fly a bit more. The balance and tone are great throughout the whole section, but it feels a bit static. Maybe bringing the main voice more upfront would help. Again, it looks to me like the bass could leave a bit more space for the other elements to fly.
Vas Dim
Intro fade in feels a little too abrupt somewhere in the middle.
Snare a little paper-ish and dry, should "explode" a bit more. The while kit would benefit from some edge, some teeth, some distortion, maybe.
Bass a little thicker that I'd like to, feels like dragging back the momentum sometimes. Maybe it's a tad loud as well.
The work with the voices is nice though it falls a bit towards the safe side. It gets a bit nasally on the chorus, probably because of the vocoded choir? Anyway, you can misbehave a lot more.
Last Section: Nice work with the music, the voice feels a little too dry and kinda boxy, maybe? Favor the drumkit snare over the percussion snare.
Overall, I love what you did with the mix, I'm just missing a little more edge, a little more space, a little ear candy, a little extra something.
Dave McIsaac
Nice intro fade in, but it goes too loud moments before the band comes in. Rebalance the volume so the actual song punches hard when it starts. Also, clean the guitar part or at least push it back.
I have 2 problems with this mix. Other than that, it really caught my attention.
1- The kick is a bit too loud, poking out and becomes overwhelming after a time.
2 - The whole mix seems a little unbalanced to me. It looks like there's a lot of stuff happening at the sides. The overheads, synths and guitars are at each other's throat, fighting for the space. Especially on the chorus, the synths seems unnecessarily upfront and pushed to the sides, and the overheads and guitars are complaining. It's a bit messy and it's screwing with the middle as well. The middle feels a bit empty, probably the kick doesn't help
Despite these problems, the mix still works for me, so it makes me think that it has the potential to be a winner if these problems are fixed.
Last section: Nice roomy voice but it needs something else, maybe some echo. It's also a bit too present, sibilants poke out too much. The synths here and throughout the song feel a bit heavy on the high frequencies, too much tickle but not a lot of meat. The percussion is a bit too loud, especially the tambourine that goes along with the kick. Nice ending, just push back the eagle synth, don't let it poke out that much, and the last "to me" echoes, make them less apparent, more ethereal.
Zsolt:
Great drums, great synths, great vocals!! The whole mix lacks a bit of thickness and has a tad too much presence, probably the character of the bass is not helping. Another problem I have is the texture of the guitars, a tad to grainy and broken for my taste. They work better for the ending, though, still not sold on them. Try giving them some body.
Regarding the drums, the kick does sound a little plasticky to me, the beater is too present. It helps in the chorus (though it could be a little more buried), but it stands out a bit too much on the verses. Like the guitars,see if you can add some body. It has weight, but it sounds a bit thin at the same time.
About the ending part, nice transition, and nice work opening up the synths, making it sound big and majestic. Still, a bit on the safe side, I'm missing some energy.