OverClocked ReMix Forums - Mega Man: The Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet 2011

Another solid round, everyone. Well done :)

The Root of All Things - Really liked Rexy's approach to Wily here. It's clear she put a lot of thought on the arrangement of this track as it's got a good progression and hits some unexplored territory. Nice energy on the drums (as an Addictive Drums user myself, I recognized it off the bat :) ). Some of the leads, like the flutes, could've been brought forward more and there are some minor loose timing issues but overall solid work from Bev here, as expected.

Wily's Inferno - What is this I don't even

Attracted to Power - I was initially skeptical at the beginning of the track with the sound design, however, like they say: don't judge a remix by it's... intro? Gario brings the energy quotient here along with some nice arrangement chops. Breakdown at 1:12 was sweet along with the lead following it. Lots of variety in the sound design (even if some of it comes off as somewhat vanilla at first). Literally missed my top three by a hair. Excellent work, mang.

Mr. X was Wily the WHOLE TIME - Gotta warn folks before you put spoliers in here :tomatoface:. This totally reminds me of another mix on the site. This mix is a bit of a mixed bag for me. There are definitely things that work here (like drums), and other things that didn't quite fit. I wasn't a huge fan of the atonal feel (I think it's been discussed here as specific chord choices, but I'm can't really talk to that with my super weak theory knowledge). May want to have the panning balanced a bit more with backing parts like the chugs and leads as they're opposite here. Arrangement was very creative and not a direction I would've expected for Wily 2. Still, you can hear the work Geoffio's put into this and he's shown he

Smooth Heat - Groooove Bias. Liked the loop you brought here man, though it kinda felt like the synths take a back seat to the unrelenting groove. This is a pretty straightforward synth take with cool ideas hidden underneath - like how Wily sneaks in underneath Heat Man at 2:30. You've clearly got the basics down for mixing - so I'd like to hear some more creative arrangement work as well as branching out on some sound design.

Glacial Age - First I'll say I really liked the atmosphere and sound design you brought to this mix. When I first downloaded all the tracks I only had a few minutes, so I clicked through to the middle of a few mixes really quick and was pleasantly surprised by what I heard on this one, making me really want to come back for another listen. On the flip side, as I'm sure it's been mentioned, the arrangement feels very aimless and meandering. Not necessarily a bad thing for new agey track, but many times the piano was hitting the source melodies for the sake of connecting them to the backing track, rather than the other way around. You've got some great production chops here obviously, so I'd say focus on your arrangement and try to convey your musical narrative to the lisenter.

Light Your Way - As I told him before, very nice guitar work for being sample based. I expected Neblix to go in a Pendulum DnB direction, so no surprise there :). Cool energy bringing things up at :45. Drums sound very good and great synth leads here. I think the biggest weaknesses here are balance & EQ - high frequencies are a bit overpowering and various levels could've been tweaked to get backing parts out of the way of the leads. But that said, a very good track from Neblix that is a lot of fun to listen to.

Far From Home - Ohh, I like what I'm hearing. Nice crisp production thoughout. It sounds like you were able to achieve exactly the sound you were aiming for, which is always a big plus. Not much more to say than awesome track and likely my #1 pick.

Shadows of Wily - Cool filtered intro here. Would've liked to hear a bit more high end on those guitars as they have a dull tone to them. Great energy here with this track and very tight performances. Sounds like drums could've come through a bit more clearly - cymbals especially sound like they're getting mangled a bit trying to cut through. This was disappointingly short to me, but what was here I really liked - the rock treatment was just so well executed style and performance wise.

whatever.jpg - So I was talking to Emu while he was trying to nail down how to approach this, so I can understand how he was struggling with an approach. I like how he's played with the melodies, but retained a solumn, but somewhat uplifting feel to it. Not a bad piano muse by any means, but I wish we could've heard him at his full potential for this mix.

No Ticket! - This wouldn't happen to be a certain Indiana Jones reference would it? Really like how this track kicks in with the driving bass synth and lead overtop. Cool and unexpected changeup at :45. Lots of positive energy in this track. High EQ range is a bit strong here, so watch out for that. Wily section at 1:20 felt a bit forced onto the track, whereas other sections sounded more naturally incorporated. Nice effects and changeups keep the interest in this track as well. :nicework:

Glitch in the System - Cool beat and creative take here man. I wasn't a HUGE fan of the synth design here as it came off a bit grating in places as well as crowded (1:13). The robot voices were a little odd, but I can see what you were going for here. The wily treatment wasn't my favorite part of the mix, so perhaps look for better ways to incorporate both sources together without it sounding forced. Still, there's some good elements here that make it a fun listen.

Phew, ok that's all of them. Great job again this round guys. Can't wait to hear round 3.