*NO* Metal Gear Solid 'So Long, Snake...'

[Liontamer]

Dear Ocremix,

We wish to submit to you our recent remix of 'Enclosure' from the original Metal Gear Solid.

My friend [Kyle James, CC'd in on the address above} and I [Tyler Langan] wish to submit this remix under the collective name of Squarewings.

We can be contacted at this email, tyler.langan@gmail.com or on our myspace www.myspace.com/squarewings

Our profile on the forums can be found at http://www.ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=24775

This song came about after a recent play through of MGS4 and the discovery that they had brought back (albeit briefly) the famous enclosure theme from the original game, as this has always been one of our favorite pieces of music from the Metal Gear Solid soundtracks we decided to attempt a reworking of the piece, in a more dramatic style. We feel the whole mix has an early 70's prog feel to the sounds, with the screaming Marshall stack guitars and classic B3 Organ's over strings, we also recorded much outdoor ambient noise to add subtly to the recording and added an ethereal passage to the end as a fond farewell to everyones favorite gruff-voiced hero. So long Snake, gone but never forgotten!

I believe this is all of the information that you require, if anymore is needed please do not hesitate to contact us.

Many Thanks.

Squarewings

Tyler Langan
&
Kyle James.

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Metal Gear Solid Original Soundtrack - (13) "Enclosure" & (01) "Metal Gear Solid"

The guitar at :24 was mixed in WAY too quietly, which was too bad, since it sounded cool. Actually, the whole thing was poorly mixed. The e-piano sounding like an organ first used at :39 was a decent idea, but not when it was so lonely sounding. Where's the support?

The beatwork added in at 1:40 sounded mechanically sequenced and had no synergy with the rest of the track. 2:20 finally beefed up some other elements to fill out the background a bit, but the texture was still thin and didn't get the job done. The bass and strings had no presence even compared to the quiet guitar work. I really liked the tone of the guitar work for the MGS theme at 3:24, but again the rest of the instrumentation didn't complement it well.

Flesh the textures out, get the overall volume louder with the parts better balanced, and rethink the percussion. The melodic interpretation could have also been more substantive as well. Decent stuff, but with a total lack of attention to cohesiveness and polish. That can be corrected over time, so keep working on improving, guys. There's a lot of great resources in the ReMixing forums (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12) to improve you execution with your existing setups, so I hope to hear from y'all again.

NO

[Palpable]

Yeah, great job with the guitars, guys. I really like the tones you have here too. I wasn't feeling the piece overall though. Besides being mixed strangely, I didn't feel this was very cohesive, even for a more ambient piece. The drums coming in at 1:40 were out-of-place and that was around the point it started feeling a little aimless. There wasn't much in the way of dynamics to that section. The bridge to the Metal Gear Solid main theme was also out-of-place and didn't transition that well. The minimalism of that last section was cool (sort of Durutti Column-esque) but again, felt like it should have been in a different song.

You definitely could stand to work on the mixing. The overall volume is too quiet and the sound is washed out. The textures are too thin with what you have, and I think some higher-frequency instruments and maybe more bass would create a fuller picture.

This will have to come some way before it could pass. Keep working on it, guys. If this isn't the one that gets you there, try something new.

NO

[zyko]

actually the clean tone guitar work wasn't the problem... it was the dead distorted tone that came in and tagged along with the piano step for step. the lead work later on was completely out of place with the accompaniment... particularly the e-piano which sounded to clash with the guitar. the drums came in a little too late to salvage the track but even when they did, they were far, far in the background and didn't mix in well with the other instruments at all.

the one saving grace for the track, however, is that the arrangement idea is a good one. the source is a very good source for what i think you're trying to do here but the drums are not engaging enough for the sort of breakbeat, driving thing you're going for... the piano takes up too much of the center stage when in reality, the piano isn't what pushes the track forward... it would be the drums and maybe the guitar... and they were the two things most poorly handled.

still, this has potential but for now, it just doesn't engage the listener enough. i can see that you guys are going to eventually be very good once your craft is honed. keep at it.
in fact, i still wanna see this done right so rework it and resubmit this shit.


NOresub