Metroid - Title - "Parasite M"

[Cyberdrive]

A Metroid remix I am working on

https://soundcloud.com/endgameaudio/parasite-m-pure-energy-mix

 

[Cyberdrive]

Ok so I think I have the arrangement pretty much done; I may shorten it but I'm not planning on adding anything.  Ignore the waveform; soundcloud is being stupid.  The remix itself is more focused on the motif than a particular incarnation of the theme, but I drew inspiration from this one as it is my favorite:

Some concerns I have:

1) I want the initial "metroid noises" to be jarring, but I'm afraid I may have made them too loud due to feedback I got from someone outside this websites community,  Are they ok as is or do I need to tone them down?  Also, is it obvious that they are metroid noises?  I drew inspiration from the opening to the gamecube game prime but I wanted to make them a bit more intense.

2)General mixing stuff; is my low end ok, is the mono mix acceptable, etc.  Ive checked all this myself of course but I'd like a second opinion from someone with experience.

3) is the arrangement ok? Is it too basic or monotonous? Is the percussion, although complex, too repetative?

[Zorrakh]

While I'm not familiar with the Prime: Hunters soundtrack, I liked the instrument choices, and especially the "cosmic whistling" and how well it reflects the line from the first game. I also like the choir pad and that it also evokes that same feeling.

1) While they do sound a little more up-front, I do like the sound design choices; personally, if they were brought down a bit, they'll be fine. Actually, I think the low ping is used a little too much, as it's played throughout the majority of the arrangement. It might help if it's on every other measure, if it's only used in a couple of different sections, or maybe making it more subdued.

2) I don't have experience with mixing -it's something I'm personally trying to work on- I'm not noticing anything that's standing out, other than what I wrote above.

3) It seems as though it's a little too long; maybe cutting down some of the middle bit (1:40-3:30) to avoid repetition. And as I said earlier, I'm not familiar with the soundtrack, so I don't know how referential it is, but I do like it. The percussion line does get a little repetitious after a while, and it might interesting to either simplify it in either that middle section, or in that last minute, as it sounded like that's what you were going for.

Speaking of which, I was really really REALLY waiting for (and wanting) a drop right before the last minute of track, but it didn't happen.  I don't know if that was intentional, but that, paired with a more simplified percussive line, I believe that it would add something to the arrangement. I don't listen to much electronic music, however as I was writing this, I recalled what Nero produced in their track "Doomsday", and I was reminded of the little bit right before and through the 2:44 mark.

Still, I like the arrangement as a whole, and I like the FX used throughout the arrangement. Thanks for sharing!

[Cyberdrive]

Thanks for the reply Zorrakh:

 

1) the low "ping" noise is actually an homage to the SNES metroid opening.  I will look into making it a bit more sparse.

2) I think everybody is working on their mixing to some degree; no worries

3) I will make it shorter as I was getting that vibe as well.  As for the track "Doomsday" I am familiar with it; going to half time might be really cool in this piece as well...thanks for the suggestion!

Edited March 12, 2016 by Cyberdrive