OCR01304 - Final Fantasy VI 'Battle on a New Continent'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Dr. Gamut]

Cool.

[Damia]

If you like Metal and guitars this is the song for you... unfortunately it has a little too much screaming guitar for me. Nice, just not for me.

[Txai]

One mixture of RPG music with Rock. Some times had used this idea. But not with high quality. In compensation is good to hearing this crazy melody. Okay, nice work!

[Wicked]

This is indeed wicked. Nobody would know this more than I would. This one is going into the favorites list. Congrats for breathing more life, or in this case, more death into a game that was getting a little tiresome to hear remixes of. It'll definitely spice up my playlist. THANK YOU.

[YoshMaster]

wow!!!

maudite bonne toune:P

c'est aussi pas mal cool de voir un ptit québécois parmi ocremix:D

jsuis aussi ete ecouter la plupart de tes mp3 sur ton site... incroyable!!! Tu as enormement de talent!!!

et que dire de Marc-Andre!!!! woooooa!:P

jrisque meme d'acheter le cd qu'il vend sur son site!

bonne job! et j'espere avoir d'autre mix de toi bientot :D (et si un jour on se croise au ashton quand y fait -30 comme cette semaine, je serai le gars avec mon cd player qui ecoute tes tounes en mangeant ma poutine:P!!)

ps: tu connais un Pascal? c'est un super bon guitariste que ma blonde connais bien, malheureusement le nom de son groupe m'echappe en ce moment... hummm entk jme suis tout de suite demander si vous vous connaisiez... anyway!:P

in english: bah... just saying how much I like the song and how cool it is to hear from someone living in the same city as I!

[Demonicmaster]

I felt compelled to comment on this piece in that it is one of the best I have heard in a while. I am a product of the 80's in a manner of speaking and hearing the guitar/metal brought back many memories. Awesome mix, now if only someone can do that to Cyan's theme I would be in heaven. Also before anyone comments yes I did request it, a few times, but I know everyone does what they want and I certainly can't do it so I am not going to get belligerent about it. I just have to bide my time and pray for someone to hear my plea. :hint: :hint:
:just kidding:

[Kadosho]

Who doesnt like something a lil dark once and awhile?
"Dancing Mad" goes that path, as some of the tracks from that installment.
This is the boss theme.

[Lord.Anki]

man, that is some wicked guitar playing. I loved it. Um. Yeah thats about it. I loved the song on the game and I love this remix. Good job. :wink:

[Txai]

wow!!!

maudite bonne toune:P

c'est aussi pas mal cool de voir un ptit québécois parmi ocremix:D

jsuis aussi ete ecouter la plupart de tes mp3 sur ton site... incroyable!!! Tu as enormement de talent!!!

et que dire de Marc-Andre!!!! woooooa!:P

jrisque meme d'acheter le cd qu'il vend sur son site!

bonne job! et j'espere avoir d'autre mix de toi bientot :D (et si un jour on se croise au ashton quand y fait -30 comme cette semaine, je serai le gars avec mon cd player qui ecoute tes tounes en mangeant ma poutine:P!!)

ps: tu connais un Pascal? c'est un super bon guitariste que ma blonde connais bien, malheureusement le nom de son groupe m'echappe en ce moment... hummm entk jme suis tout de suite demander si vous vous connaisiez... anyway!:P

in english: bah... just saying how much I like the song and how cool it is to hear from someone living in the same city as I!

This is the best comment that I heard in my life. Is just to talk other language here. Vous êtes original. Félicitations! :)

[Tone]

The guitaring throughout the entire piece is great and yes, the solo is great too. We need more songs like this.

I am a hardcore guitar fan. And I think by you doing this piece, you made a lot of other people guitar fans.

[ella guro]

This suffers from some mixing problems and a fairly weak percussion part that hinders some of the development of the arrangement by the occasionally awkward timing. Despite that, the energy and accuracy of the guitar playing and soloing really shine. The tone is a bit lo-fi, but it seems to be put to good use, and the layering on the guitars works really well. That solo at 2:36 kicks ass.

Good work. I just wish this was re-mixed with a different percussion part...

[CPacaud]

Thanks everyone for the great comments !

Adhesive, what exactly did you find weak about the percussion part ? I'm interested in hearing more.

[RoboPanda]

I listened to this song this afternoon and absolutely adored it. I've had enough of orchestral offal permeate its way through this once-glorious remix site. I thought your arrangement went particularly well, considering that the song is quite difficult to handle. I adore the guitar work - not overdone, not screechy, and it has just the right tone to match the song.

[ella guro]

Adhesive, what exactly did you find weak about the percussion part ? I'm interested in hearing more.

I think some of it is a matter of opinion, because the drums are kind of dry when compared to the effects-laded guitars (the way it's mixed doesn't really mesh well with me). The part works well when doing the faster runs, but it's pretty sparse and mechanical in other places and the stops and starts that sync with the rhythm guitar like at 1:04 just feel awkward.

[SamuraiFoochs #Reload]

NASTY, but in a good way. WOW, that's hardcore.

[CPacaud]

Adhesive: Thanks, you have a point. I'll try to keep that in mind !

[Hyouryu]

it's... interesting. I usually don't listen to anything with this much distorted guitar, but it's great to hear something like this ever so often. I know it'll drive my dad insane, and that's good enough for me!

[DarkFrog]

Definitely a very interesting song to listen to a few times. While not the sort of thing I'd add to my OCR collection, mainly because I can not envision programming while listening to this, it's definitely the sort of thing I still appreciate running through half a dozen times or so. My lack of familiarity with the source work may also be part of this, since there are definitely some songs I've kept more out of nastalgia than anything else.

Then again, there are plently of songs I was initially repelled by, such as Megaman X Brainsick Metal and Dragon View Apocryphal, that I just simply became addicted to after giving them a few dozen runs to make up my mind. (Protricity and aluminum, if that's a crude way of putting it, I apologize in advance)

Actually... this song kind of reminds me of Plok at around 4:15. (hehe, such a far out soundtrack)

Oh, and that's an acoustic guitar at around 4:50, right? Either way, it's a nice touch, helps avoid an abrupt ending, somewhat sobering I suppose.

Great work! Thank you for submitting it!

-Austin Spafford

[RimFrost the Tourianist]

I had this amazing metal piece on repeat like 10 times or so before i broke free of the wonder spell :D

There were times during the solos that i stopped and thought "Jimi Hendrix, you had much to learn!" i mean i rarely hear solos like these even these days.

Otherwise it's a somewhat solitary, dissonant and utterly brilliant masterpiece metal song .
Go and download it :twisted:

[Strife.]

Very heavy, with some pretty good rips. I like.

[Artificial_AI]

When the lead guitar got up to the higher notes, it seemed like some of them were somewhere between a 1/4 to an 1/8th step off-key. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but either way, its not a big deal. It's just for someone such as myself who frequently checks/adjusts his guitar's intonation, these sorts of things pop up on my radar.


Overall its neat, but I dont like how at some parts you seem to have the drums, rhythm guitar, and lead guitar all doing their own thing at once. This alone isn't always a problem, but when you throw chromatics into it, its distracting.

[Lucid Faia]

I don't like this remix at all. It is very good playing, but the arrangement and the sound the guitar makes leave something to be desired. There are good ways to make a guitar sound "evil," but this isn't one of them.

In the end, though it's not my taste, this is a decent remix, though it doesn't do Uematsu's masterpiece justice.

[CPacaud]

Well, I find it kinda rude to post something like that without ever mentionning what exactly you didn't like. The thing is, maybe I'd like to improve on this arrangement's weaknesses for my future ones, but with this post you're not helping me at all !

What is it about the guitars and the arrangement that you didn't like ? The flow of the song, the tone, the playing style ?

[Lucid Faia]

An elaboration, then. My biggest complaint is the sound itself, which could either be attributed to the production or to the effect you had on the lead guitar. When you're playing, some of the long notes are painful to listen to, particularly some of the high ones in New Continent. You really need to do away with that "screeching" noise; it sounds like a test of the emergency broadcast system. And this complaint is coming from a metalhead.

Now, the rhythm sounded fantastic, and if you would just leave the lead either distorted or clean, rather than making me say, "WTF is this," you'd have a winner.

Don't take it personally, and I'm not being rude. I'm being "bluntly honest."

[CPacaud]

Oh, okay. I think you're mistaken actually. If you're talking about the harmonies during the New Continent part, at the beginning and at the end, the higher part is actually a synth, not a guitar. Now, I've had some people tell me they liked it, some don't. I guess it comes down to a question of opinions.

The thing is, the synth harmony is actually two layered synths with different portamento settings, and when they both reach the note, I guess it "piles" up a little bit too much and creates some kind of mid frequency ringing. I guess I could've catched this when I was mixing, but it didn't bother me. Now that you mention it though, it is a little bit annoying.

[McClamm]

My first post here...

Anyway, I want to say that this mix is quality work. I tend to be a fan of the "orchestral offal" but different kinds of remixes are welcome. Initially your interpretation of the Floating Continent was shocking, with the high synths, and I almost stopped listening but on a second play I decided otherwise. Good job shaking things up.

[Lucid Faia]

Ah, I see. Yeah, you should do something about that, as it really takes away from the rest of the song.

And a complaint to someone else, what is with the nonsense in the remix description? I'm a musician myself and have taken some theory, but what in the world does it mean to have an "Ethereal, Cthulhian energy?" Cthulhian is not a word. Speak English.

[Dhsu]

Not a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I'm guessing.

[Lucid Faia]

No, but only because I've never had the chance to check out his/her work. And in any case, I'd much rather read a description of what the remix is like and not someone trying to show off.

[Protricity]

This suffers from some mixing problems and a fairly weak percussion part that hinders some of the development of the arrangement by the occasionally awkward timing. Despite that, the energy and accuracy of the guitar playing and soloing really shine. The tone is a bit lo-fi, but it seems to be put to good use, and the layering on the guitars works really well. That solo at 2:36 kicks ass.

Good work. I just wish this was re-mixed with a different percussion part...

I'll agree about the percussion. Could have been more fitting the style. Towards the beginning, it's almost orch-style percussion with a rock drumset.
That part at :40-50/3:35-50 may be stylistically off key or whatever, but I think it just sounds... really bad.
Solo after 1:00 does rock. Solo at 2:36 is even better. Plodding drums make it less enjoyable.
Great ideas, meh execution. Could have been done far better; just not enjoyable as is.

[CPacaud]

Well, I find it strange how most people's problems are with the drums, especially since they're not meant to be the focus of the arrangement at all ! I can understand to some extent how someone would find the part a little simple, but having the drums fly off every direction at every opportunity is in my book not a good solution at all. Its role was mostly one to be one of time-keeping, since all the layers of stuff happening over it are requiring enough attention as it is.

As for the harmony part being off-key, I beg to differ. It's not. I'm not checking right now, but if I remember correctly, it's based on one of the two octotonic scales, which are very common in "modern" music. That you like it or not is your opinion and it has to be respected, but there's nothing wrong there.

I'm glad you liked the solos though ! A shame that you don't enjoy the song though.

[Protricity]

The difference in opinion between us would more or less be that to you drums are for 'time keeping' while to me percussion is a very significant part of a song and should be treated with the same attention and creativity as any other part. "having the drums fly off every direction at every opportunity" is most certainly not what I'm talking about.
As for off-key/on-key, I have found that there are rules in music theory to justify doing just about anything, however there is no music theory that will give you any sort of answer to what will 'sound good at all times'. There are times to use this technique, and there are times when it doesn't fit. It may be very sound in music theory, but to me it certainly does not fit. In a song where a well defined key and melodic counterpart are expected, I don't think that the 'octotonic scales' or whatever this is (sorry, I really dont know much theory jargon) fit at all well within.
Like anything else said here, this is all just opinion. There is never a right or wrong.

[CPacaud]

Daaaaaamn, fast reply. I like this :P

And about the drums, I really didn't mean the drums part had to be strictly for time-keeping. Like I explained, it's just that in the context of this song I prefered making it relatively simple so it wouldn't overshadow what is happening in the other parts.

Also, I hear what you say about music theory. I NEVER do something for the sake of trying it, like going "Oh let's try putting a supra-phrygian #14 mode there, it will be leet". I did that harmony that way because it's what I heard in my head when I was composing. I thought (and still think) that the New Continent melody lent itself to that sort of thing well, since it's already pretty "out". But, you said it, it's your opinion, I won't try to force it.

And just a quick note so you'll know what I was talking about, the two octotonic scales I was talking about are made of alternance between tones and half-tones. Ie: One begins by, say, C-Db-Eb and so on, and the other would be C-D-Eb and so on. It results in a scale that is made of 8 notes, instead of 7 like major/minor and the various common modes. Sounds nifty, but it's pretty difficult to use. You'll hear it in jazz sometimes.

[Protricity]

Yep. I've certainly heard it before (and in jazz), and in other contexts it would sound better to me.

[Artificial_AI]

Instead of using drums for time keeping, you should really use them to actually add something musical to the song. If they are so-unimportant to what you had in mind for the song, why didnt you cut them from it?

[CPacaud]

Now now, everyone is misunderstanding me ! If I was really like you're all saying I am, I would've done an AC/DC arrangement ! I think I managed to insert a couple of nice fills in there. No, it's not Virgil Donati or Terry Bozzio playing, but damn, is there actually something wrong in making a good ol' heavy drum track ? And this is coming from a bass player.

Anyway, stop reading the crap I write, go back to listening to the song, and if you can honestly tell me the drums are bad, then I give you the point. And, IMO, whether you like it or not, percussions' role IS time-keeping. Maybe I'm being overly on the defensive or something, but I really have a hard time understanding how you could find something wrong with the drum track. Barely original or simple, yes, I admit it could've been better, but saying the drums are bringing the entire song down, woah there.

Also, keep an eye on VGMix. I have another arrangement in the works of a very different mood, and the drums are alot more dynamic.

[Protricity]

Don't take it the wrong way. They're just opinions. AI's cut remark was rather unnecessary anyway. Just opinions of what you may want to consider next time around, and if you don't want to, thats cool. Its your song.

[CPacaud]

Yeah, took it a bit too personnal. Apologies.

[DarkFrog]

I take back what I said earlier about not keeping the song. It's actually possible to somehow program to this music. :P

And I absolutely love the intro up to 0:10, brings me back to thinking about the giant "iron" in FLCL for some reason.

Oh yeah, and I love 1:46-1:56, and then the "siren" that follows up to 2:15.

Nice work!

-Austin Spafford

[Dragonblade]

This reminds me of the ending theme for Dragonball GT...

Good song though.

Just a little too weird for my tastes

[Musikbox_01]

Overall, this is a nice piece of work. I really like the twist of tune at around tha lte 0:40, the wicked guitar and all. The background guitar was really good too, great job on that as well.

the part at 4:00+ was a bit...funny. Didn't really like that part, because I was hoping for something really really 'wicked, but apparently that wasn't enough.

Liked the softening end tho.

7/10, good job.

[sivvus]

Great guitar solos throughout :) I could never really imagine this as a guitar piece, but it works really well :)

[Nobbynob Littlun]

Weird original, with somewhat jarring rythmns - this song capitalizes on that pretty well. If you wanted to do another version that has a bit more kick and a sharper climax, you could very smoothly transition into the Atma Weapon battle music I bet :)

[Bummerdude]

Dude, this is totally not my style, but good that you did it anyway, there are sure to be some metal-fans somewhere around here. But I found it hard to hear any melodies, I recognized the theme to the floating island, but many else. But it may be hard also to do a descent melody when all you got is a full-thottle guitar and some drums that goes crazy.

However, great mix, this site really needs some variation, although this isn´t my choice of music.

Metal :twisted:

[CPacaud]

Thanks for the open-minded comments :P

[Bummerdude]

Thanks for the open-minded comments :P
That´s our job, but thanks anyway.

[CPacaud]

Marc-André has created a MySpace webpage with three complete songs from his album avaailable to be streamed, so for those who liked his guitar playing, check it out!

http://www.myspace.com/magproject

[k u n g f u c h i c k e n]

steve vai killed it with this song! Wait..... cp and marc killed it???? instant classic.

[evktalo]

..pass me some more of that octotonic shit..


Ahh, what a fine, thick piece of madness. I definitely like. The main lead sound is thankfully not omnipresent, it's a bit tiring to listen to constantly, but there are breaks from it and anyway, what is played is some wicked stuff indeed. And I don't mean that it's bad in itself. Maybe a bit more guitar tone variation could have been there, but not a major complaint.

I can see what the drum complaints are about.. I like most of it, but especially the first part below that big guitar solo it's both too simple and too loud. Some quick but fairly quiet hihat runs for instance would have been better than frequency-hogging constant cymbal bashing, in my opinion. The second part is actually a bit like what I'm talking about, but less subtle. I do kinda love that bashing cymbal sound, but at the same time it's one of the sounds that gives it a bit mechanical feel - it sounds the same all the time. Some (volume, ...) variation there could have been good.

But hey, that's a lot of nitpicking since overall I thoroughly enjoy this arrangement, and also the sound! It's evil and thick and yet not overbearing.

--Eino

[evktalo]

This piece kicks ass.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

This piece is definitely creative and I enjoy it a lot. I don't know what's the best word to describe the feeling it evokes, so I'll just go with "dystopian" if that makes any sense. I think the real hook is the intro with its guitar riffs that kind of spell out how the song is going to flow.

Very nice job.

[Kenogu Labz]

This is quite the piece. The strong dissonance really matches the mood of the source perfectly, without overwhelming it. Great job!

[co298]

Not really my kind of music but that didn't stop me from enjoying this remix. The melody really puts you on edge with the two guitars in harmony but I liked that too.

[OA]

A little too unfocused for my tastes, I'd have preferred a tighter arrangement and some stronger hooks. The track itself is pretty solid, but ends up not really exciting me much. Sorry guys. :-(