Im in a state of near despair with this. I've spent six hours on it, and I can't even get an acceptable sounding drum mix. Maybe it's that I hate the cymbals. Or that the bass parts have no fundamental definition beyond the sharp articulation of the pick used.
Or, more accurately, this music is SO far removed from what I like, listen to, and even remotely understand, that I think I may be incapable of doing it justice. I have no idea if what I'm doing sounds good for the genre; it might be brilliant but I'd never know. It's difficult to sit through and work on though, because other than the obvious technical brilliance of the players, I can find nothing pleasing or redeeming to listen to in this song. After about a hour of reps, I am nervous and edgy because of the assault on my senses. And I haven't even loaded the lead vox yet.
I guess this says a lot about engineering and mixing; it's not a universal skill; it's genre-specific. Someone might be a great pop/rock engineer, but they'd be lost doing Jazz, or classical. Or vice-versa.
Anyway, I have a great deal of respect for anyone that can do this particular genre justice, because it's just kicking my ass. And I'm pretty good at this stuff, usually.
Any thoughts/insights? Is a Smooth Jazz guy just flat in over his head trying to do punk/speed metal/whatever this is?