*NO* Doom 'Darkness Dawning' *PRIORITY*

[Liontamer]

Larry has been bugging me to submit this remix for some time and even though Navid said he would take care of it Larry ordered me to do it now. Something to do with Halloween, I dunno (crazy americans)... :)
I cc'ed this mail to him at his request...


Contact Info
ReMixer name: Larsec, Elsa Persson
Real name: Lars Erhardt Christensen, Elsa Persson
E-mail address: Larsec@mail.dk
Website: http://larsec.net , http://www.livet.se/visa
Forum userid: 4104 (Larsec)

ReMix Info
Game ReMixed: Doom
System: PC
Tune: d_victory.mid (Text Music)

I did this arrangment or the DooM Remix Project (Dark Side of Phobos). I almost didn't make this mix in the first place. I really really wanted to do it but something weird happened on the meassageboard so my post claiming the track "vanished" somehow and it seemed no one was really sure what track was what, and which had been taken. I started working on Slough of Despair instead (which I later had to drop due to lack of time). I decided to pick up the d_victory as well. I was told that if several mixes were made of the same file the "best" one would be used. The ideas for the d_victory midi came in fast so I decided to just go with it and see what happened.

My first impression of the track was that it was an "ending credits" track, meant to play as a movie had faded to black (in this case seeing the game as having been a movie). The idea of having actual lyrics sung to the track came rather quickly and I discussed the idea with Mythril Nazgul (Leader of DooM Remix Project). He was easily sold and I started to plan it out. Having the themes played twice, once softly and then once hard. Having the piano play the parts it does seemed rather obvious to me; it fit perfectly. Strings usually go well with piano for these kind of tracks, then just a little percussion and there you go; Part one done.
I was very fond of doing metal and metal-ish tracks at the time (still am, I guess). The track also seemed to be good material for this style. I had some farily good guitar samples to use in Rex2 format (from a Clawfinger track made in Reason), good bass samples (also from the Clawfinger track, multisampled), nice drums (Drumkit from Hell). The lead guitar was a multisampled guitar soundfont; Some rythmic work on the guitar, a little bass, a beat for the drums, fills and variation, some detail work on the lead guitar, variation, and then the second half was done. Next thing to do was to write the lyrics.

Writing the lyrics was a somewhat tough job. English is not my first language and I am kind of picky when it comes to making lyrics; it has to "flow", the words need to have "magic". It's hard to explain. I go to great lengths to get all the details right (I am a detail freak).
The idea was to tell a story and with this being Doom the story had to be dark and disturbing. The story evolves. It starts out kind of general dark and then grows more specific and more dark throughout. By the time the line "Through the flames I see them coming" is sung, the listener learns that the woman telling the story is actually a part of this very story. She tells of creatures that comes to kill everything. Then the listner learns that he/she, too, is part of the story, and just as all hope seems to be gone the storyteller promises to save the listener... But once the listener is within reach of the woman she reveals herself to one of the creatures of Darkness and there is nothing but Doom and death left for the listener... That was the idea, anyway... How it turned out is up to you :)

Next, I needed to find a singer, preferably female. I knew that a couple of the girls from the vocal group Visa Rösta had done some singing for a couple of Commodore 64 remixes (besides their singing in Visa Rösta), so I contacted Pex Mahoney and he arranged for Elsa to sing the lyric (her voice was perfect for this project). After the recording had been done he did a fast mixdown and the result was great indeed. He additionally recorded some choir voices for the background. It was beautiful:) I then recieved all the wav files and did a lot of sorting and cutting and pasting and mixing and what have we... I added some "spooky" effects to make things even more disturbing and clear to the story.
I am happy with the result. Things and ideas changed along the way to fit new things and ideas and it all came together great I think... So enjoy it all you can and go crazy :)

Oh, and the "DOOM I'M BRINGING!!!" that is yelled as the last thing lyrical in the song is actually me shouting through a bullhorn :)

---

There we go, I think that's it... Hope you enjoy...

/Larsec

[The Orichalcon]

Source: http://www.doomworld.com/music/d_victor.mid - Victory Music

Having heard earlier versions of this, I found myself more fond of featuring "Pex" as his voice sounded harmonic. However Elsa does a good job in singing in this remix.

The production of the mix is quite good. Everything is balanced well and the instruments have a reverb to them that gives off that dark sound that this mix sets out to achieve successfully.

The singing in this is the highlight, as Elsa strongs sings the doom-related lyrics to the melody line of the Victory theme. The backwards effect on the vocals gives it a very creepy and doomy sound.

The singing leads into a heavy rock guitar section done entirely with fake guitars. The grunge rhythm guitar sounds pretty damn good to me, however the lead sound a little too fake for my tastes. It still works well though. The major problem here is that the guitar follows the theme from the source note for note with almost no reinterpretation at all. That's the major problem throughout the mix in that while it's very creative in the singing and the production, it's very sparse on creativity in the arrangement.

However, I feel that the lyrics, the vocals and the production more than make up for the closeness to the source in this case. It's not a cover in the sense that it's a different take on the style of the original (I hear no singing in the original.) The buildup from the piano to the guitar section in this is done well too, and there are no glaring issues other than a questionable distortion of the vocals on the last line "I'm from hell and DOOM I'M BRINGING."

Still enjoyable, and no real reason why it shouldn't be a part of the site.

YES

[GrayLightning]

Well larry just put this up and we need to do a fast track vote on this for possible halloween consideration... I'm on my way out though and I don't have time to fully weigh in on this.

Quick take: This indeed a cool mix and would fit the holloween motif perfectly, however, I feel the arrangement is too straightforward and conservative. This submission feels more like an upgrade to the original rather than something that meets the arrangement standards that we normally pass. Cool yes, enjoyable and interesting upgrade, but too conservative and lacking in arrangement particulars in my view.

I really hate to no this, but it's too questionable in that element for me to pass.

Elsa, I'm a huge fan of yours though. Your additions here were the highlight of this mix for me. Not to mention, Sweet Games, which I consider the greatest game related piece of music ever crafted. I'm looking forward to more of your works! 8)

Borderline NO

[Harmony]

Really enjoyed the production on this. The FX and sparse instruments during the first 1:42 really feel like Doom and serve as a good start to the dynamic build that climaxes with the rock section at 2:51. Before 2:51 we get some slick FX on the vocals that really pull together a solid atmosphere.

The vocals themselves are cleanly recorded and nicely executed. Elsa’s deep, haunting old-English enunciation conjures images of all things Halloween. There’s room for improvement though, mainly in the lower vocal register. Some of the notes sound a bit forced and might benefit from a little pitch correction (0:39, 1:22, etc).

For sampled guitars, the rock section is awesome. Like TO said, the lead is kind of sketchy but by no means is it bad, especially since it’s shrouded in the heavy rhythm guitar/bass work.

Arrangement is a problem though. Even though a lot has been done in terms of additions, in terms of arrangement and composition this sticks very close to the original. As an instrumental this would be enjoyable, however the vocals are really the only significant element that saves the first 2/3 of this mix from being a cover. Love the heavy guitar take on things for the ending but I also wish that we had a better resolution after all is said and done. The 5-note piano outro is a little brief IMO.

Great stuff and it’s close but I’m going to have to b-no this due to it’s overly conservative take on the theme. Definitely a memorable track though.

NO (borderline)

[The wingless]

I enjoyed it a lot. It dances between some kind of bleak sentiment and playful melodrama. Again, perfect for the season of Hallow's End. My only gripe is some of the vocal Xtreme THX FX were a little overpowering, and muddied up some segments. But those are truly piddling concerns, comparatively speaking.

The vocal work is superb. Excellent vocal control, manipulation, pitch, etc. I will make a note to add you to my musical harem.

*does the Rick James beckon gesture*

YES

[DarkeSword]

Gonna go with the NO on this one, however borderline that vote may be.

Let's get this out of the way; the vocals are awesome.

The fake guitars, however, are not. Add to that the fact that the arrangement is nearly zero (pretty much follows the original song verbatim), and this doesn't really interpret all that much.

It's too bad too; the part with the nice lyrics performed awesomely would have been welcome on OCR. Problem is that for OCR, you really need to interpret a lot more.

NO

[Liontamer]

Aight, so it's up to me to make the tough choice on this one, since I had the idea of paneling this as a Halloween mix. I have to apologize to Lars because I felt this had a good chance, but it looks like I'm gonna have to be the bad guy.

Personally, I really like the mix. It's certainly a highlight for a lot of people on The Dark Side of Phobos. It functions admirably in an expansive sense, primarily through Elsa's lyrics. Plus in the second half, Lars does some alterations of the source tune's rhythm with the synth guitar that are worthwhile, but the arrangement ultimately could be better. The instrumentation ultimately isn't much different from the source in the first half and could take more liberties with things; again, it's expanded well, but still very similar.

I think the guitar synth at 2:49 for the second half of the track needs to be heavier to match the rough vibe you're going for. The supporting guitars are awesome and are a lot meatier than the lead, but that in turn also makes the lead look weak. Right now it's being overshadowed a bit, unfortunately, and is also fairly robotic sounding, so it needs a more nuanced, human sound if possible.

The instrumentation is generally good, but the tempo is still basically the same, which makes it seem like too straightforward of an upgrade. The arrangement needs to do more with the melody to distinguish itself from the source as a stand-alone piece, which I'd love to see through a collaboration with someone else, or simply more ideas added to the picture, particularly the second half. Sorry, Lars. I'm sure I got your hopes up with this idea, which is my fault, but I have to vote honestly at all times, and this is ultimately no exception. :'-(

NO (resubmit)