[DragonAvenger]

Contact Information
ReMixer Name: SaBLeSoLDi3R
Name: Mike Navarra
Email Address:
Website: http://www.facebook.com/ShAdOxViRuS
Userid: 48694

Submission Information
Game: Metroid (NES)
Arrangement: Welcome Back
Original Song: Kraid's Lair

I've been working in FL Studio for about seven years now and submitting projects to Newgrounds under the name ShAdOxViRuS. Kraid's Lair was the first song that I started plugging into the software's piano roll when I first got it. In 2007, I submitted a remix called "Welcome to Kraid's". To date, it remains one of my most acclaimed remixes, with one of the top scores and more comments than the rest of my body of work combined.

Since then, I've learned a lot about music production and discovered so many new techniques that I decided to give this remix another go with all of the expertise I've amassed over the years. I've been attempting "OCRemix-worthy" projects for quite some time, and this one is the top contender.

The music for Kraid's lair, in my opinion, is one of the best video game songs ever written. The sheer simplicity of the percussion-less, two channel, 8-bit composition hid a very clever complexity that set the atmosphere for Kraid's lair perfectly. I tried to capture that by using the intro as a means to convey how brilliantly primitive the original song was, and then transition into something greater and more modernized.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DwmMDCOQQ

[DarkeSword]

The progression of the piece is nice but I'm not sure how I feel about the repetition or the ho-hum sound design. You find that lead sound early on and basically stick with it throughout the piece; it's simple and it gets old fast.

Retriggering stuff is nice in the second half of the piece; wish there was more of that kind of work going on throughout the piece. Syncopation could really help liven things up.

Drums are on autopilot despite cool glitch/retrigger effects. Could be spruced up a bit with fills and variation.

Great ideas, but needs more. NO, resub

[DragonAvenger]

Been thinking on this one for a while. A couple of things stick out as being pretty good; I like that you stay close to the source melodically, but really change around the structure and add the glitching in and other effects. I do think in those respects the level of personalization is high.

The things that are dragging this down for me is the generic soundscape. Right now the sounds, while balanced, don't really feel very attention-holding. Having the soundscape change around more might help. The drums also stand out as being very generic and are on autopilot for most of the mix. I definitely want to see the drums get some TLC and really enhance the mix. I might be inclined to say that if the drums were personalized it could make the mix for me without anything else being changed.

As it stands, I think this is pretty close, but it needs that push to get over the bar. I hope you revisit the drums, and possibly see about tweaking the soundscape as well.

NO (resubmit)

[Liontamer]

While I don't mind what basically sounds like direct sampling, the lead at :49 basically sounds like the NES original and could stand to sound a bit more unique compared to the original. Not necessarily a huge deal IF there were more substance going on with the rest of the arrangement; sometimes that's the case, sometimes that's not the case.

Agreed with the others that the structure ultimately is repetitive. The stutters at 2:51 were cool, but the track still felt like it was just being thrown on a loop with the stutters merely obscuring that there wasn't much else in the way of developing or evolving the arrangement further.

I thought the production and balance were decent, but once the track picks up at 1:10, it's basically repeating itself until the end, and you need more dynamic contrast/variation than the what's there now, which is good and clearly headed in the right direction.

In the effort to include some more ideas, you don't need to go crazy with over-the-top stutters or wildly changing what's here, but some subtle dropoffs and variations in your instruments and patterns could push this over the top. This is a good foundation here, Mike, so don't be discouraged!

NO (resubmit)