Liontamer

Did you want me to change your forum name to Zylance? zylance, lowercase?

I was prepared to hate this, because the last version was, to put it bluntly, terrible. This version's intro caught my attention in a good way, and there was clearly a lot more thought and creativity put into this new cut. The synths & effect that started at 1:07 (lasting until 1:23) were pretty generic, but were surrounded by better sounds. At 1:40, I wasn't feeling the synthy backing; it was on the generic sounding side, but it was OK. The woodwind lead and syrupy instrumentation worked well in combination. Drums at 2:29 sounded a bit robotic, but were serviceable. This section until 2:57 could have used something extra in the background to provide better contrast with the brief percussion dropoff at 2:59, but it's not a major criticism. All that production nitpicking aside, what else can I say other than this is a great, meaningful improvement over the first version and what should have been sent the first time. You really explored a much larger sound palette with some stock but solid instruments, including a lot of great throwback sounds that evoked chiptune & MOD soundtracks, and you also employed much more substantial development and dynamics in the arrangement. You really showed something promising on this one, nice work! YES

Wow, the shrill lead at 3:13-3:31 & 4:15-4:34 was annoying as hell. The mixing still wasn't great during some of the densest parts, but the parts were cleaner and distinguishable for the most part. The overall balance was a HUGE improvement, and I could actually listen to this nearly all the way without something needlessly attacking my ears or sounding like mud. That said, those shrill synths were annoying. At the end of the day, I can live with them, as much as I think they mess up the piece when they're in play. The arrangement wasn't in question, and the variations of the source were handled very, very well. There's not too, too much to this theme, so to be able to get this much mileage and substance out of it was excellent. The track still felt a little long, but the positives are definitely outweighing the negatives now. 4th time's a charm, Michael. Your persistence and willingness to rethink some of the things that were hampering this really paid off, and you have a much more cohesive and capably produced arrangement. Definitely hope to hear more from you. YES

If the strings are sequenced, how do you have massive "performance flubs" at :24 and :29? It doesn't sound dissonant in a way that works, it's just sloppy. The piano sample sounds OK, but the sequencing was too mechanical and dragged this down. The drums were improved and don't sound as hollow as the first version, but the snare tone still had no bite, and the writing was still plain and metronome-ish. This really started falling apart at 2:41 - the bowed strings sounded needlessly out of tune in spots and the timing wasn't tight enough. The guitar chugs were serviceable but lacked energy, and the drums were anemic & empty. There was 0 synergy with the instrumentation, and it ended up tanking the piece. The arrangement concept was still fine as far as being creative, interpretive, and expansive. But the polish still isn't there. This was an improvement from the last version with the production, with better instrument choices, but it still needs its screws tightened even more, especially for the final section. NO

I had disabled his sig image, actually, but nonetheless it looks like it's all set.

Just throwing a quick note on here to co-sign with the rest of the Js. Definitely conservative, but there's enough personalization, additive writing and dynamic alterations to squeak by, per Nutri's call. Definitely branch out more in the future, like Fishy noted, but still a solid debut, Jeff. I DEFINITELY hope we hear more gold like this! YES It just makes me put a hex on the panel for rejecting AeroZ's super interpretive take.

The snare drum sounded flimsy and the background felt too sparse much of the time. The brass was also flat. The guitar performance, as usually for most of Brandon's stuff is solid enough, like the GoW piece from Heroes vs. Villains, but still lacks the expressiveness I've heard from tighter, more polished performers. HOWEVER, the arrangement though was solid, with a lot of energetic writing and solid enough dynamics with the performance. The bowed string articulations were solid and mixed well so that any lack of realism in the sound wasn't greatly exposed. Cool ideas bookending it with the organic/nature sounds opening and the acoustic close, both of which were small details but pulled off nicely. I'm still waiting for that blowaway electric guitar performance, but the improvement should hopefully come with more practice, so I'm looking forward to hearing that potential be realized. That said, keep it up! YES

We definitely have plenty of solo piano pieces, as you've figured out, so fire away!

Just throwing an opinion way after the fact on this. Nothing else to say other than great jorb! [sic] Loving the creativity and dynamics of this one, without a doubt. Agreed with OA completely in feeling that the production and sound should have sounded even more aggressive, but that's not to take away from the excellent ideas and nice execution here. Definitely a side of Rozo's work I'd never heard before, and very cool stuff! YES

Hahahaha! I bow down to http://gunshowcomic.com/463 for, indeed, making the case better than I could.

This is copy-pasta'ed from the page, and is more of a traditional remix contest where you manipulate the original audio. NOTE: Entries have to be video responses to the YouTube video mentioned: http://youtu.be/ls-GPW-6hMs. The YouTube does NOT need actual video to go with it (it can use a still image or several images), but the entry must be made as a YouTube video response. http://www.dogearrecords.com/Earthbound_Papas/arrange_eng.html Remix/Arrange "Metal Hypnotized" from EARTHBOUND PAPAS"Octave Theory" EARTHBOUND PAPAS "Metal Hypnotized" (The original version performed by EARTHBOUND PAPAS) Try any kinds of arrangements! -> You could play an instrument with members (or even replace one or two of them!), make your own lyrics and sing along to it, or use your DTM skill to put your own spin to it! You can participate alone, with your friends, or your band members! Use EARTHBOUDN PAPAS members' separate sound data! -> You could use EARTHBOUND PAPAS member's separate sound data. 　Please download them from the link down below! : http://pub.idisk-just.com/fview/fXTRrRNM-3tKjVz8ft9rKveugWzHrD-tlRgLdHlaeSDFgbW_eg8v2KAlZ1Bc-o_NYZXOTPBz7Pw-h4mBzB7JFw File Name: MetalHypnotized_material_wavefiles.zip * There are wav files of each instruments played by EARTHBOUND PAPAS members. * All the wav files starts at the same time. * Using the wav files outside of this remix/arrange contest or in public and secondary media is prohibited. No movie/picture required! -> Even though You Tube is famous with its movies, it's not necessary to have\ pictures or movies to participate the contest! EARTHBOUND PAPAS will listen to your track! The winner will be on EARTHBOUND PAPAS' next album as a guest performer! * The details on being a guest performer will be announced to the winner after the contest is over. Dog Ear Records will send a message to the winner's YouTube account. Please check your YouTube message box on the day of the announcement. Join the contest [ from Oct. 26th, 2011 - Jan. 31st, 2012 ] The winner will be announced on [ Feb. 14th, 2012 ] We are looking forward to hearing your remix! [[ How to join the contest ]] Please post your remix/arrangement as a Video Response on YouTube. [ What's YouTube Video Response ] A video response is a video created as a reply to another user's video on YouTube. [ How to Post a Video Response on Youtube ] Please check the URL below for the details: http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=ja&answer=57931 The video you need to response to for joining the contest is below: http://youtu.be/ls-GPW-6hMs Name your remix/arrange title as your Video Response title. Read the notes below before you post the video. After submitting your video, Dog Ear Records will check and confirm your video and it will appear as a Video Response. It means, you have entered the contest! [ NOTES ] * To apply/join the EARTHBOUND PAPAS remix/arrange contest, you need to submit your tracks as a YouTube video response. * To post as a Video Response on YouTube, your YouTube account is required. * You will be responsible for registering and using your YouTube account. * The numbers of works you submit to the contest is not limited. * Please do not use Nobuo Uematsu's melodies/tracks other than "Metal Hypnotized"/ * Using any kind of pictured, movies, or music that are violating copyrights is prohibited. ( The wav files we provide on this page are allowed to use.) * Using EARTHBOUND PAPAS members' wav files outside of this remix/arrange contest or in public and secondary media is prohibited. * Please refrain from applying your work that has been published somewhere previously. ©&(P) 2011 Dog Ear Records Co.,Ltd.

Wouldn't the plagiarism culprit but "ricknaguitar" from http://www.guitarbackingtrack.com/play/themes/castlevania_-_bloody_tears_%28in_gm%29.htm then? The YouTuber added a link to it in his video description.

It's both, but interpretation would (and should) win for most people. And that's not because nostalgia's unimportant. Almost none of us would be here without it. But if you're willing to try ReMixes from games you don't know AND compare them to the originals, then you're there respecting and acknowledging interpretation. Though it helps, nostalgia's not needed to appreciate interpretation. And sometimes it's neither. (HEY, free MP3s!)

Haven't heard the first version, so I'm coming into this track fresh. Digging the laid back spacey sounds for the opening, with the beats fading in nicely. At 1:18, when the Star Fox source came in, the soundscape was extremely cramped and it felt like there wasn't enough clarity and separation among the parts (e.g. 1:29-1:38, 2:01-2:28 & 3:37-4:20 with two leading synths mudding together; 1:40-2:01 where the bowed strings bled too much). Let me clarify, I'm not bothered by the busyness of the part writing. That stuff was fine and not the problem. Oftentimes, It really felt like the bassline was barreled over by the synths and somehow everything was occupying roughly the same frequency range. Really not sure how this didn't at least get conditional YESs, as an otherwise creative arrangement sounded too cluttered for the most part. Vig or zircon could probably give some straightforward, targeted EQ recommendations. The big dynamic/volume shift at 1:18 was executed poorly; whether or not this was intentional, the way the volume abruptly jumped so high sounded accidental and sloppy when it came to details, which was unfortunate. That alone wasn't a big enough deal in the big picture, but it deserves the criticism. Very swanky dropoff at 2:55 (that also sounded much better production-wise because the parts had room to breathe). I also really liked the transitional shift from lo-fi to hi-fi during the rebuilding at 3:17. On the minus side, the exposed claps first starting at 3:06 were ghettofabulous. Not a huge deal, but they should have been layered and less exposed so they wouldn't sound so cheap and beginner-ish. Luckily they were only around for 10 seconds. Overall though, I thought the arrangement was creative and worked just fine. Production and sample qualms aside, the arrangement had awesome creativity & energy, and I liked the dynamics overall. That said, I'd still never give it a full YES as is with this lack of balance among the parts. Regardless of whatever strides were made from the previous subs, what's here now needs to be further improved a little more for me to get behind it. It doesn't have to be perfect, just ever better. The bitrate should be higher anyway, so we should see if we can get some additional post-production tweaks to it. As is, this is one I could see Emery revisiting in 3-4 years and realizing the mixing was jacked up. Otherwise, a very cool, fun arrangement, so if we get no further tweaks, people will enjoy nonetheless. Welcome! YES (conditional on EQ/balancing)

The opening sounded pretty solid to start, albeit muddy. Melody overtly came in at :49 and everything was pretty damn loud, with the highs ringing in my ears. It practically sounds like the original got sampled, the way most of the source-based instrumentation sounded the same as the original until 1:42. Sounded extremely muddy at 2:02 and it basically didn't let up until 3:03. The source tune isn't particularly developed, though it was somewhat personalized. There was a softness to the tone of the beats that occasionally was crowded out by other louder parts, and didn't properly drive the track forward. What the hell was that finish at 3:37? That focus on the bare percussion didn't fit the mood of the rest of the track and sounded out of place. In addition to the other criticisms, I'd just use selective EQing to tone down the piercing higher frequencies, and I'd reduce the delay/reverb effects that are cluttering up the soundscape. Bumping up the tempo could help, but the production problems and underdeveloped drums were more significant issues. NO

I've mentioned in a few other threads, but the plan is to roll the updated stuff out before the end of the year, or after MAGFest in January, which'll be after the holiday season. I'm waiting for some WAVs from djpretzel to update his mixes, and we should be good with the files themselves. Then comes dealing with how to update everything on the database side.

I don't know. If someone's has a pro-social conservative thread, I'd like to reserve the right to come into their thread and call them a dumbass too. So I don't co-sign on this.

Excellent.

The drumwork at 1:02 was also kind of bland, despite the great cymbals and creative fills. Can't say I felt the same way about the snare as OA; it's not terrible, it just lacks energy and mostly serves as a vanilla metronome. Not sure what you could do to tweak that, but my opinion is that the drums don't have much synergy with the Eastern instrumentation. That's the 1-2 punch on what's not working here. The rigid timing and mechanical sequencing is definitely what does this in, which is a shame because the samples themselves are solid and the arrangement is AWESOME. See what you can do to get the leads sounding less mechanical and you'd have an easy pass. NO (resubmit)

The submitter mentioned Shiro Hamaguchi as an arranger. Is any of this sub based off pre-existing Hamaguchi arrangements? Would anyone be familiar with it, or has anyone looked into it?

The electronica synth stuff at :53 & 2:49 sounded very out-of-the-box FL defaulty; not great, but it wasn't awful. Overall, what counts though is I'm really loving the overall direction and creativity of the arrangement. The woodwind sequencing (1:22-1:32) wasn't great, but it was brief, so the sequencing wasn't a huge hit for not sounding organic and human. The hand percussion sounded all sorts of crazy and energetic though. Interesting dropoff at 2:34 that worked nicely before building things back up for the finish. Some people might have a problem with the fadeout, but forget 'em, it was a perfectly reasonable way to end it. There were no source usage concerns here at all, and I didn't need the breakdown. Great usage of "Stalker," really altering it rhythmically to give it a completely different kind of energy without messing with it too much melodically. Just a really fresh take on things and a solid sub. It's not perfectly executed, but definitely a really nice suprise here. I really can't wait to hear how Guilherme gets more deadly with his music as he improves his production chops and refines his sample articulations, but I'm feeling like the best is yeat to come. Nice work, bro! YES

The opening beats sounded a little weak, but as everything came in, the textures filled out well enough. Wow, super rigid fakey piano, much in the style of a lot of Eastern arrangements. The strings are also not very realistic, but they have some nice body to them and the style is purposeful, albeit not pulled off as well as it could be. The production is nice overall and lends a nice spacey quality to everything. Weird instrument cameo at 2:35. What was the point of that? It just sounded dissimmilar to the mood of the rest of the song. Luckily there wasn't any more of that. I'm definitely on the fence here. The piano and string are so rigid, and the mechanical piano definitely sounded weaker around 3:10 for the finish, making me wish it hadn't have been brought back without some further refinement. Vig had me laughing about the string writing being nearly all super rigid half-notes. I like what I'm hearing and can definitely be OK with this being posted as is. I wanted to go YES, but deep down I can't justify it and feel comfortable with that with the execution as is. The mechanical strings coupled with the mechanical piano are a little too much for my blood, the strings being a lot more problematic than the piano. If everything hadn't come back for another go at 2:38, I probably could have lived with it, but it's not a short piece, so you really have to be comfortable listening to 3 1/2 minutes of super mechanical instruments and not be thrown off by it. Don't change a thing about the arrangement itself, just refine the articulations a bit. Even if the overall sound of the piano and strings is still the same, the articulations can be refined some in order to not stick out like a sore thumb as they're doing now. Since they're your leads and so prominent, it's difficult to get past. Good luck with the rest of the vote, and I hope we hear more from you either way, Erik, this is a solid arrangement. NO (refine/resubmit)

I had my own thoughts, but pretty much this, so I'm quoting it in full. The opening JENOVA melody is pretty much made to sound like a photocopy of the original, and there isn't much interpretation beyond the adaptation to guitar. The other area you had to really put your own spin on things with interpretation and originality, the supporting instrumentation, was too sparse-sounding with inhuman velocities that weakened the overall sound. I thought the guitar performance was solid enough in a vacuum. It could be more powerful & expressive, but it was capable, it's just that the other pieces, especially the drums, aren't working. The velocities issue Fishy mentioned is primarily what hurt this. The original section for the second half was solidly composed for the most part, but the drums and other supporting instrumentation were flimsy and left the background feeling a too empty and underdeveloped. Some additional fleshing and humanizing of the background instruments would get this sounding more expressive. And adding some more creative, personalized ideas for the first half would help that part of the arrangement sound more unique and developed. I liked the original part in the second half and thought it pieced together nicely with the JENOVA arrangement that opened it up, so once you got the supporting instrumentation ironed out a bit, it sounds like everything could be clicking. I definitely hope you give this one another shot, Cory, and see what more can be done with it. NO

We. Don't. Care. Because. It. Tastes. AMAZING. QUOTED FOR TRUTH! McRIB!

Your ReMixer name - Omigadrive Featuring VikingGuitar Your real name - Glenn Elliott Your email address - glennelliott19@yahoo.co.uk Your website - N/A although the track is from Vampire Variations so " Www.vampirevariations.com " if you need one. Your userid - 46074 (Hope I got that right =D) Link to Track Games arranged - Castlevania, Super Castlevania IV Arrangement name - Veneficus Mens Mentis (Variations on a Theme of Simon) Songs Used - Poison Mind, The Theme of Simon Belmont and an ever so tiny tip of the hat to Bloody Tears. I'm going to assume the information on this track is already on the site since well... it's Castlevania! This is the track I did for the upcoming Vampire Variations album. It's based on a fairly old idea I had of using the 4 chord rhythm from the intro of The Theme of Simon Belmont with the melody work of Poison Mind. I can't speak much for the technical side of things since my musical knowledge is limited to knowing what a C and D chord is and that is it but the track is laid out to evoke the feeling of Simon Belmont taking on a boss. I kept the segment using Simon's Theme close to the original except for the choice of instrumentation here and there. My reason for that was that it is ultimately a small section of the song by comparison and yet for only 1 minute and 30 seconds of music the original track just had that much going on to begin with. I took a few more liberties with the Poison Mind segments, playing around with subtle yet different rhythms to the chord progression used beneath the melody lines and extending runs from the main melody into something that I felt was more fluid. VikingGuitar provided the guitar solo towards the end as well as doing the final mastering of the track. If I had anything technical to add, I would... really need to find where I put that music theory book. Glenn (Omigadrive) Ps; If I messed something up in the submission I'd appreciate you letting me know for the future =D ------------------------------------------------------------ - "Poison Mind" - "Theme of Simon Belmont"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMvLGEys2WU - "Bloody Tears" Arrangement-wise, it's pretty melodically conservative, so most of the interpretation comes from the live performances and supporting instrumentation. It's probably enough to get by IMO, though more melodic interpretation would have been welcome. The string triggering didn't sound natural, but it was serviceable enough to get by. The supporting instrumentation in many areas felt too soft or sparse, leaving the overall soundscape emptier than you'd expect (e.g. the drums always, the slowly bowed strings from 3:26-3:42, vox from 3:10-3:25 & 3:50-4:04). Don't know if it's just me, but the plain-sounding drum writing (:54-1:11, 1:18-2:14) dragged this down for me, particularly during the Theme of Simon bridge (1:34-1:50). Things finally got more progressive at 2:38 to at least lend some energy and dynamics to the rest of the track, though the drum tone itself lacked power. The drum writing clearly doesn't need to be that crazy all the time, but the beginning patterns need some more creativity and energy. Some solid shredding (I'm assuming from VikingGuitar) at 4:06 for about 10 seconds (sounded great!), followed by some male choir stuff before hitting the strings & organ and then finally moving into some cool harpsichord stuff at 5:05 for the close. I'm liking the overall concept, but the execution needs some more power and polish. If you're willing to take another pass at the drums & the production to beef some of the sounds up and fully realize the potential here, I'd love to hear it. Hopefully the other Js can give some more targeted production advice. NO (resubmit)