Posted 2009-04-03, evaluated by the judges panel


Game NOT Over! We last saw GO back in 2006, but ringleader and all-around awesome person Elisabeth Pezouvanis writes to inform us that they're back, albeit reformed - the new lineup is Wire (Elisabeth Pezouvanis), Tim Reaper (Timo Hovinen), Dasaten (Dustin Shomer) and Egg (Mårten), with Wire and Tim the holdovers from the previous lineup. A rose by any other name, though - they can still rock just as hard! For those of you who might be a bit newer, Game Over's OCR debut from Punch-Out!! way back in 2002 remains a standout track and a fantastic example of a badass rock narrative being constructed around the actual game. I still find myself singing it every other week, it's that damn catchy. There's a lot of backstory on this one, and there were several other peeps who chipped in, so let's webcopypaste the submission email:

"Seven people worked with this remix: Aside from the band, Criss Blackburn, the vocalist of VII Gates (http://www.sevengates.se) did the backing vocals, Zoid from Satariel (http://www.satariel.com) did the growl, Another Soundscape did some of the mixing and Audiomaster (http://www.audiomaster.co.uk) did the mastering.

This is a remaster of the original version from 2006 with new drums. Hope you like it. I (Wire) started working on the arrangement in October 2001. It was all in my head before I found some time to scrawl it down on a piece of paper (my normal song-writing/arrangement process). Since then I have grown to prefer a simpler, more subtle and less epic style (which can be heard in our future work). Due to four tempo changes and lots of different styles within the same song, this isn't our tightest performance ever and there were times when some of us cried blood. But it is one of the most appreciated songs of our fans and this is why we decided to redo it.

Lyrics then. Yes, they are about S/M. About dominance and submission and switching back and forth between the two. The song plays around with the thought that this is how Dracula, with his creatively evil mind, found a new kind of amusement in killing Simon. One more thing should be mentioned. It's common in the lyrics of popular music to bring up the five senses. In the second part of the song we incorporated this cliché along with an added joke: Apparently, "sonar" is the sixth sense of the bat."

First off, this mix is friggin' AWESOME. Secondly, it's actually funny, which we don't really see too often, especially in the conceptual/campy fashion that Game Over can totally pull off. There might be some minor timing issues, but the energy more than compensates, and everything being a bit looser gives it a slight punk feel. I love the vocal; great job writing a countermelody that allowed singing over TOP the original melodic riffs, rather than singing in unison with them. I'm usually really not a fan of growling, deep male vocals, but here the juxtaposition with the higher, melodic vocal makes the whole thing an extended rock opera, which also meshes well with the medley of source tunes employed. In other words, it all jives. Quick judgequote action from Jimmy:

"But what the hell, this is Castlevania. It's grungy, it's dirty, it's energetic, it's got cool vocals, and it makes me want to go beat undead creatures with a metal chain."

AnSo:

"And the arrangement is, in fact, nothing short of awesome. Lyrics and vocals in general are well performed and written. The performance from the band is overall good but feels a bit loose, 2:29 during the solo especially. Solos were great though. Overall, great variation and personalization."

And Oji:

"Arrangement-wise, very strong stuff with some cool vocals. Hahaha, I didn't pay close enough attention to the lyrics to actually digest the S/M theme here, but that's definitely some untrodden ground in the community... Looking forward to the next one from y'all!"

I definitely misheard "sonarizing" as "sodomizing", which - esp. when combined with /"Step inside my unholy dwelling"/, gave the piece a certain... atmosphere. But I think dancing around a "special" relationship between Simon and Drac is actually better, and lets fanboys enjoy the mix without complaining about compromising the sacro-sanctity of the narrative. Either way, it's well-written stuff, and totally works. Awesome concept, awesome execution, and I'm so very glad this piece was revised and reworked and can eventually see the light of day (or the darkness of night, I suppose) on OCR. Check out Game Over's triumphant return, then go back and listen to all their other stuff, then drop 'em a line over at www.nintendometal.com.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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MechaFone
on 2009-04-28 16:30:33

Ah hah! Now I recognize these guys. High quality stuff here. I love remixes with live instruments, and this is a worthy addition. Great lyrics, too!

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fil_razorback
on 2009-04-21 06:03:28

First time I ever hear a remix with growl on OCR, needless to say I'm digging it ! And the rest is great too, cant wait for the next one.

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Martin Penwald
on 2009-04-18 15:55:50
juese belmont anyone? lol

That song always pops up in my head when I listen to this remix.

Anyway, about the song at hand: I really like the music and the singing; it has a very 90s Euro-Metal vibe to it. Not much of a fan of the growling, though, since it, for the most part, doesn't add anything to the song. Actually, it makes it longer than it needed to be.

In other words, less would have been more, but what is here is pretty good stuff.

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ZealPath
on 2009-04-15 01:29:50

First time I listened to this I was paying so much attention to the... interesting lyrics that I kind of missed out on the actual music. After a few listens, I've really come to like this mix, it's a little humorous, but I've always liked the source and hearing it in this style is very cool.

Definitely one that stands out as unique in my book, mostly because of the lyrics.

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Mtlbro
on 2009-04-12 09:13:10

I like the rough parts, makes it sound grungy and live which works for the genre. I half-expected to hear cheers and jeers from some underground crowd around 5:50.

The intro and outro sound really cool, but I don't understand how it fits in the rest of the song. That' s just me tho.

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yosefu
on 2009-04-12 08:27:06

I'm loving the guitars, lyrics and the dark atmosphere is just soo cool.

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Bozlifyme
on 2009-04-11 03:42:26

Wow, this track was unexpected. Maybe I just don't really listen to the right OC tracks, but finding a Castlevania track with full on lyrics was a rare treat for me. Don't listen to anything this heavy these days but I thoroughly enjoyed this track.

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Kizyr
on 2009-04-09 17:10:40

Objectively, it sounds pretty good. It's rough around the edges, but considering the style, it works well that way. Subjectively, though, I'm not much of a fan of metal, so I can't say I enjoy this one a lot (that subjectivity may tamper my assessment of the lyrics).

Don't get me wrong, though. I'm definitely a fan of Game Over (Cataclysmic Clash and Little Mac's Confession are some of my favorites here), and I really hope to see a lot more come out of them.

Have you guys played / considered playing at MAGFest any time? It's a trek, but... it could be worth it. I picture Transylvanian Temptation as something that'd be pretty sweet live. KF

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GameOver
on 2009-04-07 12:41:01

We have had people complain about low kbps. I keep getting emails from people who want wavs. Also, the issues you're talking about derive from recording more than anything. Mastering was done by a pro, for money.

But ok, then:

I find it kind of funny that people are discussing sound quality so seriously

Music is music is music.

SABBAT FOR THE WIN!!!

Edit: Show me one other "remix" on this site with 40 tracks of which only 2 were sequenced with better quality than this and then MAYBE I shall shut up. :P

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djpretzel
on 2009-04-07 09:48:24
Also, I find it kind of funny that people are discussing sound quality so seriously considering our songs always seem to be so long they need to be in 128 kbps to fit on this site. (If you don't know what mp3 conversion will do at that rate, ask Mr MAGFest for a very educational lecture on the topic. :))

Oh I'd REALLY rather not... Brendan, god bless him, he's a great guy, but frankly the Internet is rife with folks who'll go off on Ogg vs. MP3 and bitrate rants at the drop of a hat; it's really nothing special. Dime a dozen. Yes, MP3 compression (and all other lossy forms) can and will introduce artifacting, but there are plenty of mixes on this site at similar lengths that sound fantastic and don't get the same types of comments.

Don't get me wrong - if it wasn't clear from the writeup, I think you put together an awesome track. But you seem to be suggesting that people can't "seriously" talk about sound quality, mixing, or mastering on a 128Kbps encoding, and they can, because there are PLENTY of details that come through - or don't, depending on the mixing/mastering/EQ of the source - at that quality, regardless of any artifacting or frequency limiting. In other words, I firmly believe most of the comments surrounding sound quality would still be made even if it were 320Kbps, as they are targeted at things you can't write off as MP3 compression.

For my money, this is the type of music that SHOULDN'T be pristinely mixed/mastered/EQ'd, as it's edgy, but to write off comments due to bitrate... bleh. I honestly was reluctant to even reply since it'll just bring folks who believe they've got superhuman hearing and can detect the difference between 320 and 321Kbps out of the woodwork... like moth to flame...

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GameOver
on 2009-04-07 08:17:45

I just realized the part at 3:07 - 3:17 was taken from the last stage of the game! Completely forgot. Kinda cool, for a really long time I thought I wrote that part myself.

Also, I find it kind of funny that people are discussing sound quality so seriously considering our songs always seem to be so long they need to be in 128 kbps to fit on this site. (If you don't know what mp3 conversion will do at that rate, ask Mr MAGFest for a very educational lecture on the topic. :))

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Mecahawk
on 2009-04-04 18:35:07

This is an absolutely brilliant Remix. I would listen to this song over and over again if it were not for the really deep demonic angry voice. It completely ruins the experience of the song for me. ;_;

All the other vocals, and the music is absolutely brilliant, but that low pitched angry demonic angry voice makes me not be able to listen to the song. ;_;

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Hypnotikid
on 2009-04-04 13:20:35

I like this remix... The vocals remind me of a mixture of Dethklok and Helmet.

Repetitive drum beats seem to be the only flaw in this remix, but aside from that, it's one great remix.

I like how GameOver put this together on the guitar, it kind of makes me not pay attention to the repetitive drum beats.

It's no rock opera, and no Dream Theater, but still one rockin' tune.

Great job on this one =)

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danimal cannon
on 2009-04-04 02:59:22

I always love Game Over tracks, sure the mixing is a bit spotty, but the arrangement and soul is second to none. Their vocals are often polarizing, and I happen to be in the camp that loves them. While the drums are far from sequenced perfection that OCR is all too used to, I found them to not be a distraction.

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SoulinEther
on 2009-04-03 20:08:37

Wow. Castlevania OST is getting some really (deservedly) dark lyrics.. way different than what I'm used to (juese belmont anyone? lol)

Anyway, to the mix at hand. I listened to this one on speakers so I might have missed mixing issues - sounded fine to me. I really liked the arrangement - along with the new vocal melodies (and original lyrics), this mix had me listening to Wicked Child and Vampire Killer as though I'd never heard them before.

Creative, AND featuring S/M. Good job. :nicework:

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Castlevania (Konami , 1986, NES)
Music by Kinuyo Yamashita,Satoe Terashima
Songs:
"Vampire Killer (Breaking Into the Castle BGM)"
"Wicked Child (Outdoors BGM)"

Tags (8)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Singing,Vocals: Female,Vocals: Male
Additional:
Lyrics > Lyrics: Original
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Castlevania_Transylvanian_Temptation_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,281,629 bytes
MD5:
5054ba0978a28071e73955c55ee80611
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
6:27

Step inside my unholy dwelling
Be my dear guest of honor
A nocturnal attraction
Here in this castle where slavery thrives

Your mastery, my delight
Pain is my pleasure tonight

Yeah!
Bow to the Prince of Darkness
Now we've reached to the end of our playing
I succumb to my blood-lust
An infernal perversion
Get yourself ready for your own demise
The taste of your blood so divine
Tables are turned, now you're mine

Yeah!
Bow to the Prince of Darkness
Cry out!
Nothing can save you now

Beware the darkened hallways of sin
My curse disseminates
Afflicted mind with a mortal wish
Eternity awaits
A torture chamber with no way out
An image of my mind
Treachery, degeneration
Wing-clipped by mankind

I see you
I hear you
Your whip will lead the way
Get up now, make my day
In decay!
When sunrise sweeps away my remains
Into infinity
I return to the depths of my realm
See you in a century
I smell you
Sonarize you
Your whip will lead the way
Come on and make my day
Down on your knees and pray!

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