Gario Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I submit my rework for the amiga classic Shadow Of The Beast Level 1 theme music. I also have many more cover songs that you can hear on soundcloud (link below: Another World, Doom, System Shock, Syndicate, Alone in the dark, Zak Mckracken, Duke Nukem, Dune, etc) My project name: MASTER BOOT RECORD Videogame: Shadow Of The Beast Original composition by David Whittaker Published by: Psygnosis My original music Website: www.masterbootrecord.bandcamp.com My Vgm reworks website: www.soundcloud.com/masterbootrecordmusic Master Boot Record Heavy metal is not dead. It was just not evenly synthesized (Source starts at 3:07) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Never even heard of this game before, but I'm glad I have now! Nice to see some more love for the Amiga, and this is a solid arrangement. Really nice blend of retro synths and guitar. Arrangement starts off on the conservative side, running through the source closely once, but then branches off and has fun with it. It is, however, very busy. There are lots of instruments here that you can barely hear at all. For instance, at 0:53 you can hear a C64-ish bass arp that sounds really nice, but it only cuts through for that one moment. Listening for it, I think it's playing during the busy sections, but you can't hear it until 1:21. I can hear hints of other instruments with the same issue; it seems like each time I listen to it, I pick out one or two more. And it's all great stuff, but it's nearly inaudible. The louder sections--0:49-1:21, 2:14-2:58, 3:44-4:02, and 5:06-5:34, and to a lesser extent 4:02-4:20 and 4:41-5:06, are also somewhat overcompressed. Some more headroom there would also help your instruments stand out from each other. I like this arrangement a lot, but the production isn't quite where I think it needs to be. Spend some time on EQ and volume levels so the listener can better appreciate all the good stuff you've got going on here, and I think you'll have a much better piece that absolutely deserves to be on our front page. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 This arrangement is awesome, I agree with MW! Really creative use of the source. Even so, the mix sounds repetitive to me, not so much because the same sounds are used all throughout the mix, but more because every single element is saturated/distorted. There is very little contrast between clean and distorted, so it kind of sounds like a wall of grunge, and not in a good way, especially in the busiest parts. I suggest going back through and deciding which things should have heavy saturation on them and which might be better cleaner. The synth that you are using for bass sounds like it is playing lower than it's optimal range so it sometimes sounds like it is straining down there. The really full sections are definitely overcompressed and have no dynamics and I can hear overcompression artifacts over and above all the saturation. Even with that much compression you are only getting a max RMS value of -9.3, which tells me something in the mix is badly unbalanced and/or needs eq treatment (probably some low end rumble, 30Hz and below, stealing your headroom). I feel like the track is going to require a full rebalance, and re-mixing. Some elements such as the low synth starting at 1:45 are much too quiet, making the track dynamics too diverse overall. The drums are fairly squashed in the mix, and the kick in particular can not get through the soundscape in the heavy parts. I get what you are trying to do here and I love the concept... the execution isn't quite there though, but I hope you'll take this opportunity to fine-tune your mixing craft and please do send this back to us again, I look forward to passing it. NO (resubmit, please) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Yup, very much in agreement with the above J's. The distorted rhythm guitars are taking up a huge amount of room, especially in the low end, which is making the whole mix crowded whenever it has sustained/fast repeating notes. Pause duration at 2:06 sounded a bit out to tempo with me, but I guess it could be intentional. Lead is really busy throughout a good chunk of the mix, which over the course of listening starts to get a bit tiring, honestly. Really, this applies to the sounds used in the mix as a whole because there's not much contrast in tone for all the of the instruments for the majority of the track. It's not a dealbreaker, but I'd like to hear more variation on writing, synths, tones, or any of the above to keep the mix fresh and avoid listener fatigue. Arrangement work is pretty straightforward, but with enough personalization for me to be comfortable with the level of interpretation, especially as the mix progresses. Definitely would like to hear this with the mixing cleaned up and possibly some better contrast in the writing to keep the listener interested. NO resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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