OCR01447 - World of Warcraft & Guild Wars 'All Nations Rise'

[djpretzel]

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

[Monobrow]

Oh how I loathe thee, even if your music is good.

Jeez...I mean...It just figures.

Anyway, nice orchestral arrangement, piano = lovely. Very full in the lower ranges though, which felt a little bit overpowering...but yeah...beautiful and moving. Also, some nice builds.

[redchlorine]

I am so <3ing this.
Sadly, I have only completed a bit of Guild Wars, and never played WoW, so much of this is just 'good music'.
Halfway through writing this, I thought I had left the game on on my other computer again. Nice. :wink:

[Blake]

Amazing take on Stormwind. Awesome overall.

[OmegaDonut]

Five amazing ReMixes in two days. The master DJP is too good to us.

EDIT: Uh-oh. This mix clipped a bit on my headphones. Although now I see that this is VBR encoded, and it drops down to... 96 kbps?!

Hopefully Wangless has got a version with a better bitrate on his site...

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

I haven't actually heard it yet (just clicked the download button) but, WOO-HOO! New Wingless!

Okay, I've heard it now. Omegadonut ain't kidding. The bitrate's a little too low and there's quite a bit of clipping going on. The rate dropped into the 60's every so often according to my computer (but it's nothing too crazy to make it sound horrible though). It ain't the man with no wings fault though. There are, unfortunately, restrictions on ReMIxes.

All in all, really great sounding mix. I'm glad to finally hear something from the man himself again.

[Slash5150]

I'm curious about this. I'm hearing more Guild Wars in this song than I am WoW so can this actually be considered from WoW?

[Liontamer]

Guild Wars is used in the first half, and World of Warcraft in the second half. The database only has the capability of associating a ReMix with one specific game.

[Blake]

From what I know, something similar to the Stormwind melody comes in at 1:57 with different chord structure from the original. I don't know if a GW chord progression here is backing a guild wars melody at 1:57, but if they're both, awesome. Stormwind continues on.

The piano that comes in at 2:40 takes place of the original choir backing.



4:02 really reminds me of the cathedral district in stormwind, and stormwind continues.

I dont recognize any familiar take at 4:26 of WoW, but until the end of the song the song is laced with tidbits at its melody. So overall, WoW music is heard throughout the majority of the song as well. And from what people are saying about GW taking up most of the song, it looks like Wingless has done a great mixture of both.

[Navi]

If anyone wants to compare, here (http://www.mythrilnazgul.com/Stormwind.mp3).

[bladiator]

ARGH, dammit it Wingless, now the Guild Wars theme song is stuck in my brain again. Oooh, the memories. Oh, and nice work. I somehow knew you'd be the first to get that song remixed after we had commented about it in-game.

[spineshark]

I was really curious as to what a WoW mix would sound like. So much of the music is so rich and detailed to begin with...but this mix goes one better and kicks ass with two of the best songs from these games. Way cool.

[PaladinBeuton]

Just as usual, it kicks the ass.

The Wingless is a f***ing genius, and I'm very very angry because it is exactly the track I was remixing in a similar way until 5 minutes ago, when I discovered this jewel.

So errrr, my version of the Stormwind theme just went to trash, actually, Wingless' one far better.

[mDuo13]

Oh, now you've gone and done it. What's sacred now, if people can remix modern MMORPGs like WoW? Next thing you know they'll be remixing the music from TV SHOWS (www.animeremix.org) or something!

P.S. good mix, and good luck getting Midway to notice you.

[zircon]

EDIT: Uh-oh. This mix clipped a bit on my headphones. Although now I see that this is VBR encoded, and it drops down to... 96 kbps?!

I did the encoding.

You'll notice that many mixes, including the amazing Triforce Majeure, go FAR below 96kbps during VBR. It's not uncommon to set the minimum to something like 32kbps in fact. This was a very long mix and thus it was very difficult to encode without going over the maximum filesize, 6mb. Notice that the mix size is 5.8mb. I did everything humanly possible to maximize the quality while staying under that limit.

There is also no clipping. I made absolutely sure of that and ran it through three different kinds of analysis to check.

[Emura]

The Wingless proves once again he's not just a man with a pretty website. His seamless blending of themes from Guild Wars and World of Warcraft is nothing short of beautiful, to put it mildly. A strong and steady piano leads the music for the greater part of the song, with a warm and complete string section filling out the sound perfectly.

The arrangment could be made even richer, in my humble opinion, with a larger dynamic range throughout the piece. It felt to me as though the difference between the quiet and the loud was, while certainly effective, not used to it's full effect. I'm not talking about Maurice Ravel's Bolero style dynamics, but I feel a larger range would work quite well with The Wingless' exception piece, particularly after the building sounds leading up to 5:06.

On the first few listens, it sounded as though there were some compression issues around 4:40, and again around 5:08. There appeared to be a small range of frequencies that sounded staticy. After a careful listen though, I can hear that it is actually a percussion instrument. Though I can't remember the real name, it plays and sounds like a washboard.

But I digress. The real story here is that The Wingless continues to make no compromises with his beautiful arrangment and production. Sir Colin Rex Davis take note: if one day you forget your orchestra, make sure you have a Wangless around.

[OmegaDonut]

EDIT: Uh-oh. This mix clipped a bit on my headphones. Although now I see that this is VBR encoded, and it drops down to... 96 kbps?!

I did the encoding.

You'll notice that many mixes, including the amazing Triforce Majeure, go FAR below 96kbps during VBR. It's not uncommon to set the minimum to something like 32kbps in fact. This was a very long mix and thus it was very difficult to encode without going over the maximum filesize, 6mb. Notice that the mix size is 5.8mb. I did everything humanly possible to maximize the quality while staying under that limit.

There is also no clipping. I made absolutely sure of that and ran it through three different kinds of analysis to check.

Regardless, it does clip on my headphones quite a lot; even under the same settings, most of the songs I listen to don't clip so much, if at all. May I request a version with a higher bitrate?

[PaladinBeuton]

I'm curious about this. I'm hearing more Guild Wars in this song than I am WoW so can this actually be considered from WoW?

Total agreement.

[xamgis]

This is an excellent mix. I enjoyed it very much. Music from most of the more modern video games seem to be more challenging so it's good that there are those willing to take them on and succeed in excellent quality.

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

EDIT: Uh-oh. This mix clipped a bit on my headphones. Although now I see that this is VBR encoded, and it drops down to... 96 kbps?!

I did the encoding.

You'll notice that many mixes, including the amazing Triforce Majeure, go FAR below 96kbps during VBR. It's not uncommon to set the minimum to something like 32kbps in fact. This was a very long mix and thus it was very difficult to encode without going over the maximum filesize, 6mb. Notice that the mix size is 5.8mb. I did everything humanly possible to maximize the quality while staying under that limit.

There is also no clipping. I made absolutely sure of that and ran it through three different kinds of analysis to check.

Um, it totally clips. Er, maybe it's not clipping? Maybe the little crunchy blips every so often are intentional? Maybe me and OmegaDonut just need better headphones? I don't doubt the mighty Zircon's ability, afterall.

[OmegaDonut]

Maybe me and OmegaDonut just need better headphones? I don't doubt the mighty Zircon's ability, afterall.

Not when every other track I listen to sounds fine while "All Nations Rise" starts clipping like crazy.

[Navi]

Can you point out specific times of clipping for comparison?

[Flaillen]

First of all, i'm very glad to see a new song by The Wingless. ^^ He is definately one of my favourite remixers on this site.

About the clipping, I can't hear that on my normal speakers but when I try listening on surround sound between twenty to fourtyish there is a slight crackling sound...It's not too bad since you can easily just switch around the settings on NvMixer to reduce that sound to almost nothing. Or atleast you can on my computer...

Comparing this with other mixes i've heard by Wingless I'd have to say this one rates around 8.5/10 for me. I especially like this mix because you can have it on repeat and it almost sounds like its just one long/never ending song which is great for just relaxing to.

Can't wait to hear some more mixes similar to this one and my friends at college can stop moaning that there arn't any World of Warcraft remixes... :lol:

[PlastikBag]

I really like this, but the clipping bugs the hell out of me. The mix starts clipping right at the beginning. I'm listening to this on my headphones and I hear clipping only in the left ear. My headphones aren't necessarily very good, but all other songs sound just fine on my headphones, and I'm pretty sure it's not my headphones if other people are hearing as well. I'm not too sure if it's the encoding or the samples, because I only hear clipping on the bells.

[Navi]

Ah, i see now. When I listen on headphones, with my volume jacked, there is audible clipping, but its when my volume is maxed out.

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

Maybe it's just a bad sample or the attack's too high or something? We can't all just be imagining it, can we?

Or maybe we all just have shitty headphones that pick up shitty sounds (like how old car cd players pick up scratches a lot easier than more modern ones?); the actual mixers and/or judges on this site probably have more suitable aural equipment than us casual listeners. I'm sure this more likely the problem, eh?

[Navi]

I'm not well versed in audio engineering at all, so i have no idea why this happens. I do know that when i run the song through CoolEdit, it comes up with 0% clipping...soo, yeah.....

[zircon]

Ok.. just to prove it

The following screenshot is about 60s into the song. The clipping indicators are not red, and the maximum volume is not over 0db.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW.PNG

Here is a visual example of the song waveform 15s near the intro. As you can see, there are no waveform spikes that even approach clipping.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW2.PNG

Here is Wavelab's analysis results of the mix, just to make sure I didn't VISUALLY miss anything. The max volume comes close to 0db, but doesn't hit it.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW3.PNG

Another analysis using RMS power instead. Also not in the clipping range.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW4.PNG

It's NOT the song. There is no possible way it's the song. No clipping exists. Now, is there some sort of faux-distortion that has occured because of the way the sounds interacted somehow? Maybe. I'm not hearing it, but you might be. Just like someone posted in the WIPs forum that they kept hearing an AOL Instant Messenger sound effect in one of my WIPs, when it was actually a palm muted guitar.

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

I'm not well versed in audio engineering at all, so i have no idea why this happens. I do know that when i run the song through CoolEdit, it comes up with 0% clipping...soo, yeah.....

Hmmm... ditto about the CoolEdit. I think it may just be a bad sample. Or, perhaps, The Wingless even intentionally created the sounds to stir up such a discussion!

Ok.. just to prove it

The following screenshot is about 60s into the song. The clipping indicators are not red, and the maximum volume is not over 0db.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW.PNG

Here is a visual example of the song waveform 15s near the intro. As you can see, there are no waveform spikes that even approach clipping.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW2.PNG

Here is Wavelab's analysis results of the mix, just to make sure I didn't VISUALLY miss anything. The max volume comes close to 0db, but doesn't hit it.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW3.PNG

Another analysis using RMS power instead. Also not in the clipping range.

www.zirconstudios.com/GWWOW4.PNG

It's NOT the song. There is no possible way it's the song. No clipping exists. Now, is there some sort of faux-distortion that has occured because of the way the sounds interacted somehow? Maybe. I'm not hearing it, but you might be. Just like someone posted in the WIPs forum that they kept hearing an AOL Instant Messenger sound effect in one of my WIPs, when it was actually a palm muted guitar.

I'm beginning to believe you are correct (not that I would doubt a judge/ReMixer). I'm sure, as I've stated above, that what some of us are hearing may be some were audio transferance or something like that. It doesn't quite sound like clipping afterall; it sounds more like the hisses and pops you hear on warped/dirty records.

[PlastikBag]

Yeah, after a couple more listens, it isn't clipping that I hear. What I do hear bothers the hell outta me though.

[Arro]

I wish I could eat this song, it probably tastes pretty good if it could be made into something edible...

Never played either of these games though.

[Nobbynob Littlun]

Took me a good bit to recognize the WoW part. Ah yes, there it is. I was kinda hoping the first WoW "remix" would be an elaboration on the Thunder Bluff music <3

It doesnt feel Warcrafty at all though. I suggest anyone who aims for that should listen, of course, to their soundtracks (available somewhere on blizzard.com or worldofwarcraft.com for free download), but also to the soundtrack to the CONAN MOVIES! Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, etc

[Navi]

Conan the Barbarian

Yes. When I played WoW, the soundtrack always reminded me of Basil Poledouris's excellent score to the Conan series. The pounding heavy percussion, huge brass sections, etc...always conjured up images of Conan and his world.

I think GrayLighting could pull off an excellent mix in a Basil Poledouris style, but that's just wishful thinking (cough)

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

I think GrayLighting could pull off an excellent mix in a Basil Poledouris style, but that's just wishful thinking (cough)

That truly is a brilliant idea. GrayLighting would definitely be the most poignant choice; we should start up a petition or something.

[FiremanJoe]

I was compelled to write a glowing review, after I heard this fantastic piece. I don't know what all this talk about Gray is, cos Wingless has done a wonderful job.
I can't fault this beautiful piece.
The harmonies, rhythms, melody; it all fits perfectly together. The brass warms to your ears and the strings are smooth. Don't pass this one up, it's a must-hear.

[zircon]

Guys, come on.. let's go back to reviews of the song. Enough about Gray ;)

[DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff]

After listening to this mix a whole lot more, I've decided that it's totally awesome and one of my favorite Wingless tunes (though nothing'll ever beat Teardrinker). I've gotten used to the bad triangle sample (or poor encoding... whatever my previous qualms had been attributed to) and now I can no longer get enough.

I'm not sure if this ever even saw the judges panel... but, I s'pose, if you are the Wingless anything you create is guaranteed golden.

[CapnHulk]

I quit WoW a very long time ago, but I still enjoy popping in the soundtrack and giving it a whirl. You can definitely recognize the Stormwind theme in this, but personally it doesn't seem nearly as powerful without the choir bit.

The Guild Wars half sounds very nice, but I'm not as familiar with it these days as I would like to be.

[Synchrone]

Well, so I come back to somewhat replenish my collection (lots got deleted by accident). I decided to just stick with the Wingless to give the bandwith a break.. 'sides, I always liked his remixes since I discovered them. And what do I see? A new one.

What can I say. I find it difficult to find the Stormwind theme, but heck.. do I care? This is a remix full of changes yet with a theme that holds it together.. like all of The Wingless' remixes. And it has this depth that makes me think it may be as deep as Zebesian Midnight (another favourite of mine) which allows for different interpretations during the times I'll listen to it. So, thanks for this new remix!

[Snooper_1989]

This song is so awesome it is beyond the normal extent of the word awesome. Weird thing is - I play WoW but i've never heard the Stormwind theme because i've never been there... Horde for the win?

[Chuckles]

I thought I caught something that almost sounded like Beauty and the Beast similarities in there. I suppose it's coincidental...? (esp. 4:15 ff)

[DJ EK BEATMAN]

A brilliant mix! The overall texture is fantastic! I was reminded of 'A Stray Child' by Yuki Kajiura at around 2:48 - 3:18 and it (the motive I'm referring to) makes a reappearance around 4:40. But overall, a fantastic work.

[ShrikeArghast]

My only gripe is that I wish you folks had gone a little heavier on the Stormwind theme. I can pick it out in there, sort of lurking under the surface, but 90% of the time its hidden underneath the Guild Wars theme...

... not that that's really all that high of a crime. Jeremy Soule is certainly a superior artist to whoever composed the SW theme - it's just that I wanted to here more of the competing product.

By the way, I love the ironic blending of these two games. WoW - the juggernaught, breakthrough MMO - combined with Guild Wars, the much-halooed 'boy who would be king' sequel-in-playstyle to Diablo II, that WoW's detractors claimed would sink Blizzard's product in a matter of weeks.

That, of course, didn't happen, but I love hearing these two rivals thumping along with one another in the same tune. It's like forcing Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter to duet on a piano.

[Kakumei]

By the way, I love the ironic blending of these two games. WoW - the juggernaught, breakthrough MMO - combined with Guild Wars, the much-halooed 'boy who would be king' sequel-in-playstyle to Diablo II, that WoW's detractors claimed would sink Blizzard's product in a matter of weeks.

I don't know if you've actually played GW but okay.

Song is pretty awesome though. Wingless made a good guildmate, even though he always referred to me as "my lady".

[SoC]

I've played both these games (one much more than the other :) ). I do tend to hear the Guild Wars theme more predominately in the mix, and have trouble picking out the Stormwind part.

1:48 starts the best part for me. The background strings really give it some oomph.

[Jarvi]

Not really a review, but I caught this thread while browsing the WoW forums. Know that you are loved :)

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14697492233&sid=1

[OA]

Pretty stuff here, nice and varied, with some good transitions. The piano and bell percussion was great, and the themes were well integrated. Nice length and everything flowed well. Nice work, Wingless. :-)

[SiriusBeatz]

I'm not really familiar enough with the WoW soundtrack to hear much of it, but the prevalence of the Guild Wars theme and the very, very slight reference to pre-Searing Ascalon towards the beginning were more than enough for me to enjoy this one.

[Polo]

Definitely a mix to behold. Of particular note:


- The cumulative flavor of each successive instrument in the intro is like the sun dawning on a fresh, pleasant day, telling all nations to rise with it.

- 0:54 counterbalances the previous buildup with soft scale falls via fewer instruments before rising in incremental intensity at 1:35.

- The Guild Wars theme plays extensively in different blushes early on. Stormwind supplements one of its iterations at 2:37, crafting a melodically similar bridge. After a later grand build, 4:51 gently plays 1:36 of Stormwind to wrap things up.

- What really whets my appetite are the composite rhythmic strings. They give the loftier sections a feeling of movement, like when the GW theme shines in a noble light at 1:48, and they stay tense and busy when they're subdued or creeping into the fray, especially at 3:24-3:56.