Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

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

2ND EVAL The piano opening things up sounded very mechanical right from the start. Beats at :24 were super-thin and sounded too clean compared to the effects on the piano. IMO, there was no synergy with the piano, keyboard, faux sax, and beats. I did like the piano picking up at 1:33; again, the piano sounded rigidly timed, but the writing there was creative, and you did a nice job gradually increasing its intensity. The beats came back in at 1:56. It was only at 1:56 that I ever noticed this track had a bassline; it barely, just barely registered, but it was so subtle that it doesn't contribute anything; give that some more presense. Basically lots of quasi-comping on top of the sparse backing writing until 2:41 picked back up with the melody invoked. Well, I didn't think the combination of instruments clicked for the first 90 seconds, and without some lyrics though, this ultimately didn't sound substantial enough as a standalone piece. The timing shouldn't sound mechanical on anything, and the instrumental could use more meat on it. Needs work to polish up the execution and thicken things up. I'd also argue you could get rid of the first 90 seconds and just develop with more ideas after things fill out more.

Nice and heavy intro with CoD's "Abandoned Castle." Not feeling the instrumentation at :35; not sure why the synth piano-lead sounds flat, but it's in uncanny valley territory, i.e. the tone sounds good, but the articulations sound rigid. The backing bowed strings also felt the same way; not totally exposed, but still a stiff, uncanny valley sound. The mixing was also cluttered, but reasonably solid. In the grand scheme of things, none of that meaningfully dings the track on a production level. I can see the argument about the change of themes at 1:05 feeling disjointed, but IMO that's only because you know the themes are different. A 1:04, the theme change had a quick transition sound and flowed together just fine and had I not known there were multiple sources, I could have believed it was structurally from one composition in the Castlevania series. On the flip side, something with the chorus writing from 1:20-1:34 also sounded flat; I'm not saying to slavishly hold to the melody as it sounded in the source, but that was melodious while this didn't present any contrast from the verse before it with the tone of the synth. Really flat transition to CoD's "Abandoned Castle" chorus at 1:34; that was a chance for some dynamic contrast, and it just didn't happen. That change DID feel abrupt. As it quickly moved onto focusing on that theme, there was some great energy with the treatment of Castlevania III's "Beginning" from 1:44. Much like how I thought the transition at 1:04 worked, the shift back to CoD's "Abandoned Castle" at 2:16 was also seamless. But then you have transition spots like 2:30, 2:37 (I'll live on that one), 2:53 & 3:06 in pretty close succession that all felt very jumpy. I did enjoy the subtle source tune interplay after 3:06, and the energy of the final section and the close were great. I'm one of the more permissive judges when it comes to transitions, so I was expecting to roll on the YES side, but I'm with the NOs that there are too many jumpy transitions where the flow of the piece felt disjointed; it's definitely not just from recognizing which themes are which, as we have multi-source medleys with lots of theme changes that click better than this. I hope Andrew would be willing to take another look at this to see how to have this flow together more, since the performance and production are strong. NO (resubmit)

I'm with MindWanderer. The arrangement's strong, but the mixing's too cluttered. I've tried giving it the benefit of the doubt, but I ultimately agreed that it's not mixed well. I'm not against power in a rock track, but every section with the source melody or the backing chugs in play was too cluttered, and that's a dealbreaker. The synth at 2:42 & 3:21 did step over the guitar, and the sequencing was really stilted there as well. Dustin's usually got things on pretty solid ground, but there are just too many sections where the mixing is sloppy. NO (resubmit)

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

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

Much love to Mazedude for helping us eventually fill this request! http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03616

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One thing really getting at me is how the drums don't gel at all with the rest of the track; they sound like a placeholder part in a WIP. On the flip side, I liked the movement of the warbly synth around the stereo field during your choruses though. The synth design could be more creative and sophisticated, but this mostly get it done because of the arrangement's creativity. If the sound design were as strong as the chorus sections for the whole track, I wouldn't have had any production reservations. Those punchy beats though are messing up the soundscape at every turn and are taking up too much of the foreground while also feeling disconnected from the rest of the soundscape. Also, see what you can do to add some sort of sophistication to the writing during the simpler/emptier sections (e.g. :41-:58). Good work so far, Ben, so definitely work on this further if this doesn't make it as is. NO (resubmit)

I got some Sennheiser HD 497's per GrayLightning's suggestion for about $60 back when I started judging, and I've been rolling with 'em ever since (13 years). They're discontinued, but you could try other types of Sennheiser over-ear headphones. Never been uncomfortable wearing mine for long periods of time. https://en-us.sennheiser.com/over-ear-headphones

http://ocremix.org/remixes/?&offset=0&sort=datedesc In the menus up top, click "music", then where it says List All ReMixes, click "Newest"; where you're in list view for several ReMixes, you can also click the word "posted" in the listings at any time to sort the listings.

OC ReMix presents Smash The Record: The Record! September 14, 2017 Contact: press@ocremix.org FAIRFAX, VA... Supporting this year's Smash The Record gaming events to fundraise for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, OverClocked ReMix today released its 64th free community arrangement album, Smash The Record: The Record. Featuring seven tracks from seven artists, the album arranges music from six different franchises tied to Smash The Record 2017's speedruns and tournaments. The event -- taking place September 14-17 in Ontario, CA -- benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through the St. Jude PLAY LIVE charity platform. The corresponding album is directed by veteran OC ReMix submissions judge and project director Shariq "DarkeSword" Ansari, and is available for free download at http://smashtherecord.ocremix.org. Smash The Record: The Record marks OC ReMix's sixth album created for a gaming event, following several albums for the Apex Series fighting game tournaments -- the world's largest Super Smash Bros. tournament -- as well as CEO (Community Event Orlando). The album honors themes from Super Smash Bros., Mega Man, Mario, Castlevania, F-Zero, and Kirby in several styles, including chiptune, rock, and jazz. Smash The Record: The Record was made by fans, for fans, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any game publisher or developer; all games, characters, images, and original compositions are copyright their respective owners. "We've put together a fantastic album of FREE remixes of a few of the games and series featured at Smash The Record to help highlight the amazing work done at St. Jude," explained director Shariq Ansari. "If you enjoy this album (and I hope you do), please head over to Smash The Record's website, check out the stream, and donate! About OverClocked ReMix Founded in 1999, OverClocked ReMix is an organization dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form. Its primary focus is ocremix.org, a website featuring thousands of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans. About Smash The Record Created in 2014, Smash The Record is a yearly Super Smash Bros. and speedrunning charity event that benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through the St. Jude PLAY LIVE program. The event has previously held the Guinness World Record for "Longest Video Games Marathon Playing a Fighting Game." ### Download it: http://smashtherecord.ocremix.org Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/Smash_The_Record_-_The_Record.torrent Comments/Reviews: http://ocremix.org/community/topic/46272/ Smash The Record site: http://smashtherecord.com Smash The Record Twitch stream: http://twitch.tv/vgbootcamp St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: http://stjude.org St. Jude PLAY LIVE charity platform: http://stjude.org/get-involved/at-play/video-game-charity-event.html

Download Smash The Record: The Record: http://smashtherecord.ocremix.org Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/Smash_The_Record_-_The_Record.torrent I'm excited to present Smash The Record: The Record! Smash The Record is a wonderful event that aims to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through their St. Jude PLAY LIVE program. We've put together a fantastic album of FREE remixes of a few of the games and series featured at Smash The Record to help highlight the amazing work done at St. Jude. If you enjoy this album (and I hope you do), please head over to Smash The Record's website, check out the stream, and donate! - Shariq Ansari (DarkeSword)

Agreed with this, and I'll add that I wish the four-on-the-floor beats during the heavier sections were more creative and varied. Adding in original writing alongside the source chorus starting at 2:45 was a nice touch that helped seal things from the arrangement/interpretation perspective. Agreed with both Gario and MindWanderer about the crowding, but I'll live as well; if we can get an update, awesome, but this can roll as is if need be on the strength of the arrangement. Good to see Crimzon back at it here. YES (borderline)

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

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

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

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

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