Liontamer

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Well, I had a full vote, but unfortunately lost it, so I'll just have to summarize it by agreeing with Deia. This is 85% of the way there, but the instrumentation needs to sound more realistic, particularly IMO the piano. You rock, Rebecca; definitely spend the time to tweak this and fully realize the potential of this otherwise-solid arrangement. NO (resubmit) EDIT (5/27): I realize that the overall instrumentation's purposefully delicate in many ways, but it comes off not sounding ideal. Some extra humanization and richness would have set this off even more. I've listened again several times, and -- though I'm still put off some by the piano feeling flimsy and fake, and other judges articulated more legitimate issues -- the issues all don't bother me as much when weighing it against the strength of the arrangement. YES (borderline)

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For the intro, the bass pattern derived from the Kid Icarus source was marginalized in the background in a way I wasn't quite feeling, but it was still audible if you were looking for it. Around 1:31 in particular, the looseness of the timing felt off. Some of the electrosynths used here weren't anything to write home about, and the dropoff at 1:49 felt so empty until 1:58. The performance arguably plods, and the timing won't be for everyone. On the whole though, the production sounded fine, and the various elements were distinctly heard. My main issue is on the repetitive, static nature of the arrangement. I didn't like how the guitar work from 2:24-2:41 & 3:47-4:05 was a cut-and-paste of :17-:39 with the chromatic percussion or bwomp chicka on top, followed by the pair of disco strings cameos, always the same exact intensity. I had the same cut-and-paste criticisms with 1:49-1:58 vs. 2:59-3:08 and more importantly 1:58-2:23 vs. 3:21-3:47 (then :57-1:14 vs. 4:05-4:17 is slightly different); some more meaningful variations there would have sounded like more development was done and made the structure seem like less of a formula. Everything's got such a distinct sound and energy level that the copy-pasta layout of the arrangement seem more lazy and obvious; it flattens the energy level and drags down interest. At 2:42, I feel like I've already heard all this coast at the same basic energy level and style, so there's not much going on afterward that isn't a rinse-and-repeat with some light additions on top for a bare minimum of variation. As far as the genre, Thomas, the interpretation is cool on that level, but there needs to be more extensive development of this concept. Right now, it's just attaching sections one after the other like they're Legos; maybe it technically gets the job done as far as song construction, but it lacks natural-sounding performance variations. NO

We do those in the actual site database now, which isn't visible to users yet. It's a work in progress.

Very blocky and thin piano sample opening things up. The synths brought in at :16 were generically produced, but I did like the glassy lead for the melody and the bassline sounded nice. I'm wondering why this is mixed so quietly, but we'll see if anything changes. Around 1:35, there was a rebuild with very subtle additions of new elements, but the overall groove felt very static until the change in pattern at 2:53; it's not poorly made, but there's just not much interest in this build as a listener, IMO. The phasing synth brought in at 2:38 sounded super generic and was just crowding out other elements, and I didn't enjoy when it took over as the lead at 2:53, as it sounded behind the beat. The "Stickerbush Symphony" cameo from 3:10-3:25 was an odd placement, but nothing inherently bad. It felt like 3:51 was a short cut-and-paste of 2:53 with some accents added, including "Stickerbush Symphony" coming in again as the track shifted to a dropoff. It's promising stuff so far, John, but unpolished. It's strange to hear a relatively varied arrangement sound so plodding; for example the relative energy level of the piece peaked at 2:38, and the densest sections with the phasing synths don't have the energy intended by the writing, while the beats & groove behind it were very plainly written. While Sir_NutS had great insight with the production criticisms, I'd like to see more about whether the execution of the arrangement clicks; for me, the interpretation is there, but the execution is not, at least not yet. For me, writing with more creative dynamic contrast and adding more energy to the arrangement would be the most important area to address. NO (resubmit)

Dunno when OCR got a reputation for being anti-repetition, when we have a lot of mixes with some manner of it. We're just against lazy and excessive repetition, usually when it involves minimal changes or (worse), the dreaded cut-and-paste.

Looks great!

EVIL REIGNS with BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume III!! March 8, 2016 Contact: press@ocremix.org FAIRFAX, VA... EVIL REIGNS SUPREME!! OverClocked ReMix today released its 56th arrangement album, BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume III. Directors Pieter "pu_freak" van Os & Alexandre "Chernabogue" Mourey returned for this third (and final?!?) volume of epic and twisted tributes to the villains gamers love to hate. The album features 20 eerie & adrenaline-pumping arrangements of boss themes from a deep catalog of games in dark styles and genres including industrial, orchestral, rock, solo piano, dubstep, and metal. BadAss: Volume III is available for free download at http://badass3.ocremix.org. This album series was made to show exactly how BadAss these antagonists are, and honor them with music befitting of their villainy. BadAss: Volume III was made by fans, for fans, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the publishers or developers of the original games; all original compositions are copyright their respective owners. "This time around, I wanted to change the genre and feel of the album a bit while still keeping it in line with expectations for a boss themes album, just like David L. Puga (director of BadAss: Volumes I and II) did with Volume II," explained director Pieter "pu_freak" van Os. "This means more orchestral influences (such as low choirs or strings) or more dissonance/eerie arrangements. And, man, did the artists deliver!" 23 artists from around the world collaborated on musical tributes to some of gaming's biggest (and smallest!) perpetrators, including: Albert Wesker (Resident Evil series) Big Bertha (Wild Guns) Colossi (Shadow of the Colossus) Dark Bowser (Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story) Dark Samus (Metroid Prime series) Deathevan (Breath of Fire II) Grahf (Xenogears) Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI) Koopalings (Super Mario World) Lavos (Chrono Trigger) Machinedramon (Digimon World) Mad Jack (Donkey Kong 64) Magus (Chrono Trigger) Metalhead (Vectorman) Molgera (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker) Orbot Purple (Vectorman series) Rival (Pokémon Red Version) Slash (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III) Sturm (Advance Wars) Zeromus (Final Fantasy IV). BadAss: Volume III is OC ReMix's fourth album angled toward video game villains, and the third completely focused on the dark side of gaming history, continuing down the road paved by BadAss: Volume I and Volume II released in 2011 and 2013. "As with a good trilogy, the first one is to introduce people to the concept and vibe, the second part is the meanest and darkest one, and the final entry is the epic finale," van Os affirmed. "This album won't punch you in the face with the raw power that Volume II had, but rather attack you mentally, by conquering your soul with bombastic powerful songs and driving you insane with the twisted ones. You WILL feel evil after listening to this. Find you inner Darth Vader or your inner Dexter and enjoy the epic conclusion of the BadAss trilogy!" 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. ### Preview it: Download it: http://badass3.ocremix.org Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/BadAss_-_Boss_Themes_-_Volume_III.torrent Comments/Reviews: http://ocremix.org/community/topic/42944-/

OK, so it turns out staff have special privs on that level. I do miss working with vBulletin code though. :'-(

Preview it: http://www.youtube.com/embed/UfzRXWnWxEM Download it: http://badass3.ocremix.org Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/BadAss_-_Boss_Themes_-_Volume_III.torrent Welcome to the beginning of the end! BadAss 3 is the final boss of the boss themes albums, so to say. Like the previous volumes, BadAss 3 consists of awesome renditions of various boss themes, from popular series such as Final Fantasy to more obscure games like Vectorman and Wild Guns. But make no mistake: this is not not BadAss 1 or 2. As with a good trilogy, the first one is to introduce people to the concept and vibe, the second part is the meanest and darkest one and the final entry is the epic finale. In Boss terms: BadAss 1 were the level bosses, BadAss 2 is the mean, tough-as-nails general you will have to defeat before you take take on the final mastermind: BadAss 3. This is also reflected in the vibe of the albums. BadAss 1 had general evil-sounding boss remixes, BadAss 2 had more of a focus on meaner, darker and grittier mixes, while this volume has epic orchestral rock or creepy mind-twisting remixes. This album won't punch you in the face with the raw power than Volume 2 had, but rather attack you mentally, by conquering your soul with bombastic powerful songs and driving you insane with the twisted ones. You WILL feel evil after listening to this. Find you inner Darth Vader or your inner Dexter and enjoy the epic conclusion of the (first?) BadAss trilogy! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And there it is, the final entry to the BadAss trilogy. After being assistant director of the first two volumes, I was now taking the helm as project director with Alex (Chernabogue) as my trusted assistant. Since I became the assistant director for BadAss 1 (after already being a ReMixer when it was still called Crescendo to Chaos under different management), I never stopped working for BadAss. The preparations for volume 2 started just before the first volume was released, and this volume was also being worked on before the release of BadAss 2. In other words, I've been busy with directing BadAss since May 2009 (and involved as a ReMixer since May 2006); it's been a part of my life for quite some time. Of course, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't enjoy it as much as I did! This time around, I wanted to change the genre and feel of the album a bit while still keeping it in line with expectations for a boss themes album, just like David L. Puga (director of BadAss: Volumes 1 and 2) did with volume 2. As I described it in the project thread at the OverClocked ReMix project forum: "Instead of gritty and mean as with BA2, Volume 3 will be more adrenaline-pumping, epic, and twisted. People should feel dark and evil when listening to this album. This could be done with epic and bombastic songs, but also with really creepy or twisted songs. This means more orchestral influences (such as low choirs or strings) or more dissonance/eerie arrangements." And, man, did the artists deliver! - Pieter van Os (pu_freak) I participated to the two first volumes of BadAss (one track on volume I, and the trailer for volume II), so I knew I had to do something for BA3. Pieter contacted me at the end of BA2 to help him finish the trilogy, and it was a true honor to co-direct another OCR album, with such a great team of remixers and staff members. This album also contains three new tracks from me, the biggest number I've done for any album yet! Thanks a lot to Pieter (pu_freak), Eino (evktalo), and Tim (timaeus222), plus to all the artists that participated. We are BadAss! - Alexandre Mourey (Chernabogue) When it came time for BadAss 3 to roll around, knowing it was going to be the last volume, I realized I had to really help it go out with a bang. Since it was the last volume, to me, it had to be as perfect as it can be. Seeing as how the theme was to be accomplished with epic, bombastic, creepy, or twisted atmospheres, I figured the production should also be pretty aggressive (usually), and that's where I come in. I was the mastering engineer for this album, first and foremost, but I was also willing to do the mixing for some people as well, so thank you to the people who were patient with me while I worked to mix their tracks both in the way that I would objectively be happy with and in the way that they had preferably envisioned in the end. In my humble opinion, I think that, out of all three volumes, Vol. 3 has some of the most talented and imaginative artists working together and making so many tracks that clicked nicely. I truly believe that the best of these artists' abilities was brought out during the refinement process. Even with the aggressive (or just full-sounding) final production, generally speaking for most of these tracks, I think the dynamics are still there to augment the creative, evocative, and/or immersive nature of these arrangements. It was a blast working closely on this with pu_freak and Chernabogue, and I hope to do something like this again in the future! ...Are you feeling BadAss? Will you strut like you mean it? ARE... YOU... READY?! *spazzes out* - Truong-Son Nguyen (timaeus222)

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.

You click the icon in the upper-left that says 'Source'. That option's never been gone, though I will say, IPS preserving the formatting of what you paste into WYSIWYG can then make plain text formatting very cumbersome.

Concurring DragonAvenger's opinion that it is just an original track with no connection to the stated source tune. NO

The arrangement is definitely very interpretive, BUT once you get to 2:00, you've basically heard it all. The vox articulations starting at 1:03 were very stilted and jumpy from note to note; real singers wouldn't just drop to 0 before starting the next note, so it's jarring and sloppy to hear moments like that in the piece. By 2:00, I agree with Emunator that the sine lead had wore out its welcome; there is the additional guitar work, but it's such a minor touch, and the track does feel dynamically flat. Nice chippy accents in the background at 2:45. 2:58's section probably would have been better served as a dropoff at 2:00; I'm not saying you need to specifically do that as a revision, but it's an example where the piece could go in a different direction sooner to prevent things from getting stale. There needs to be some sort of meaningful dynamic contrast by either getting more interpretive with the source melody later on, altering the instrumentation and textures, or rhythms; it's really up to you. Also, you don't need some sort of crazy change-up, just something that meaningfully alters and develops the piece in some way, whether it's tone, tempo, or energy level. Two solid examples of doing this would be Zeratul & Diggi Dis's EarthBound 'Dialima tu Kafé' and tycho's Marathon 'Neo-Pacificist', i.e. subtle changes in instruments and textures while retaining a constant lead or melody. Cool start so far, but the track hovers in one gear for too long. Even understanding that something a track is just about subtle shifts, this was too subtle and thus felt too static and repetitive. Reading back on Emunator's full vote now, I'm glad we along with NutS heard much of the same issues. Good start so far, Nick; I'd love to hear a revised version of this. You production/mixing is strong, so this sounds great. Now we just need to get the arrangement evolving some more; again, it doesn't need to be drastic changes for the sake of changes, just something that gets things not sounding too static and samey over time. Even if you don't revise this one, I'm confident you could get something posted to OCR in the future with creative ideas like this! NO (resubmit)

I moved that post to a different thread because it had nothing to do with the mascot project.

Poo on Chimpazilla for decrying a perfectly fine fade-in. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. Nice change-up at 2:28 for some much-needed dynamic contrast from the metal section. Suddenly, the mixing became much more clear and distinct again; it definitely makes the crowded nature of the power guitars stand out more as a result. I agree with Chimpa all the way that the mixing of the metal guitar work sounds very muffly and lo-fi, which is holding back this incredible arrangement. I could see some YES's, and I would have been one myself had the mixing stayed strong after 2:58, but it went back to the same issues at 3:13. The piano sequencing was definitely a weak point, BUT the sample did have some good airiness that gave adequate body to it; definitely nothing I had a problem with compared to where the quality bar is set here. Also pointing out some small issues that didn't meaningfully affect my vote, but were worth noting: Watch for the quick distortion when the piano sample triggers at :15, 4:25 & 4:40. There's also a soft but audible pop noise at 4:30 that may mean there were others I missed. I'm borderline, and I wouldn't have a problem if the panel ultimately went YES on this version, but some tweaks to the mixing of the metal sections would put this over the top for me. Again, very tough call for me when the arrangement's this great; if it were just less muffled, I could have tipped in favor of it. Good luck with the rest of the vote, Aitor, and DEFINITELY tweak this if this doesn't make it as is. Nice work so far! NO (borderline/resubmit)

The little blips and synth ear candy in the background was a bit buried, but otherwise the energy and performances here were amazing. This should get some love from people who are cool with hearing Ice Cap done in a more intense way, as opposed to the purity police who need the mood/tone/energy to stay super close to the source tune upon penalty of death for not ticking every nostalgia box. I'd say the production issues are similar to those with Shinray's Golden Axe II 'Ravaged Metal' sub, i.e. some production tweaks should have been made, but what's here is strong, creative and well-performed arranging regardless, so it's an easy YES.

Yep. Other than that nitpick, strong work, which I always expect from anything with Ben's name on it. YES

Perhaps it's just my opinion because I judge on headphones rather than monitors, but to me the panning is simply too wide, particularly the electric guitar & strings on the right side) and it makes the whole listen imbalanced. I didn't have any issue with the bass levels at all, and I thought the arrangement was a solid, smoove rock arrangement. Some of the string samples felt exposed (e.g. 1:56-2:03), but moments like that were brief, and I really dug the instrumentation overall. Some might poo on the finish being abrupt, but it wasn't a big deal, IMO. Tweak the panning so it's more stereo, and I'm cool with this and would just change the vote. Awesome piece and strong instrumentation choices, Tim. I also liked this before, and like it still, so I'm also doing a copy/paste of my vote from last time because it all still applies. But the revision didn't meaningfully address the wide panning, which is Tim's choice. That said, he did include a more centered version to potentially address my issues and have an alternate version in case; however, I thought the soundscape was cluttered with that version, so it's not where it would need to be for that version either. It's tough, and I'm not trying to antagonize Tim; he thinks the wide panning works, and I'd argue strongly that on headphones, it doesn't work at all and is a legitimate dealbreaker despite the arrangement itself being all sorts of awesome. NO (refine/resubmit) EDIT (6/2): I'm taking many more listens to version 1 (the one without the ultra-wide panning), and I'm not going to make the perfect the enemy of the good. I thought the levels were a touch too low and that created a feeling that the various parts didn't stand out enough from one another. Raising the volume in WinAmp from 25% to 35% allowed me to parse more of the detail work, and that's what made me switch my decision. I would have liked more volume and clarity, but the arrangement is too strong. And though it sounds like some highs got completely cut, the lack of clarity isn't a dealbreaker vs. the strength of the rest of the arrangement. Small thing, but one aspect that stands out nicely in version 1 (because the panning isn't wide) is the accent writing of the guitar from 2:10-2:24. This version is definitely enough of an improvement where I'm not going to hold this back. YES (borderline)

The mixing sounded messy around :58 when more parts came in, though the part-writing was sweet. Overall, the levels felt too loud, but would sound fine pulled back a little. 1:32 sounded like a cut-and-paste job from :16... noooooooo. And then a lazy-style fadeout instead of a resolution... nooooooooo. Let's not do that for a 2-minute mix, this needs to be developed further. As much as the arrangement was interpretive via the different instrumentation and weaving together both the N64 and SNES "Rainbow Road" themes, this is still an underdeveloped arrangement. Great start, but flesh this out and realize the potential here with another minute of different interpretive material and don't copy-pasta stuff. Very good stuff so far, Eric, and I truly hope we get more submissions from you. NO (resubmit)