Liontamer

Neither rings a bell.

Get educated: http://vgmdb.net/db/albums.php?id=5137

Awesome! That definitely made my night.

Sounds awesome as hell, Luke. Great idea; lemme know if you hear some good obscure ones!

Holy lord. God bless El Pollo Loco for inspiring this awful video for their contest.

Because we haven't done that since the start of the site, it's only something that's been done since a year or two ago. For recent mixes, the tags are always filled out. I'd personally prefer to retag everything and release a new torrent so that everything from the past is consistent. Maybe down the line.

Dear Submissions: I've been a fan of OC ReMix for years, but have never sent anything . . . mainly because I'm always working on my own compositions and such. But I decided to take a break and work on a Zelda cover. Here it is. My OC ReMix name is Bastian which is also my music pseudonym for my enyaesque style music (which this cover falls under). This is a cover of Koji Kondo's "Title Theme" from The Legend of Zelda and "Zelda's Lullabye" from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, inspired by the structure and instrumentation of Enya's "Book of Days" myspace.com/bastian Have a great day! Bastian -------------------------------------------------------------- Pretty lofty shooting for the style of "Book of Days". pixietricks will enjoy the concept on this one if she gets to it. http://www.zophar.net/nsf/zelda.zip - Track 1 ("Title") http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=loz3 - "Princess Zelda's Rescue" (loz3-22.spc) The piano sounded pretty thin and mechanically sequenced to start. Some voices kicked in at :18, with the melody at :26. The voices were too quiet, IMO and occupied the same frequency range as the low strings; gotta better separate those sounds with some EQ work. The harmony going on at 1:18, 2:22 & 3:44 seemed to end up as a wrong note in terms of following the source melody. There was some almost residual noise coming off from the vox from 2:12-2:14 that didn't work with the song, and seemed accidental; not a huge deal. But yeah, all the parts just mucked together, where you ended up with the vox too quiet, the low strings bleeding into the vox, and the piano totally obscured. There was use of the stereo field here, but it wasn't very thorough. When the sets of voices traded off, there was some difference in the stereo positioning, but the voices weren't adequately occupying their own space, IMO. The 2:34 segue to "Princess Zelda's Rescue" mimicked the dropoff in "Book of Days", albeit not as effectively, since there was nothing done to raise the intensity of the previous section moving into the transition. In terms of apeing the Enya style, I thought you would have gone for something like ambient vox over "The Goddess Appears" instead of the more melodic Zelda lullaby as the dropoff. Went back into the same old stuff from 3:07-3:50. I'm not saying you need to copy Enya's structure entirely, but if you're inspired by that song, take note that it's got a lot more effective dynamics than this. Despite your efforts, this arrangement was basically stuck in one gear most of the time and felt repetitive and overlong. Your dropoff wasn't that pronounced because you didn't build to it, and the final section wasn't significantly more intense than the first section, feeling more like a retread than a dramatic finish. If anything, the poor sound balance meant that the rise in the intensity of the instruments only drowned down the vox, thus messing up the intended power of the finish in the "Book of Days" style. It's actually cool evaluating this not only regarding the Zelda tunes, but how well you pulled off the Enya formula. The concept was cool, but the execution left a lot to be desired. There's a lot of room for improvement, so you should keep working on this. Do what you can to make the Zelda melody less repetitive/droning the whole time, and use the ReMixing forums here to work on your production chops so that your compositional ideas come across more clearly and effectively. NO

Thanks to CHz for the soundtrack link and source ID. Saved me a ton of time. http://snesmusic.org/hoot/gbs/Wario%20Land%203%20(2000)(Nintendo).zip - Track 21 I liked how you varied up the sounds and style of the theme throughout the track to start, though I agreed with Palp on a lot of the sounds here being low-quality and cheap-sounding. Melodically though, there was little-to-no interpretation here. Try taking some creative liberties with the melody itself, like with the rhythm or tempo, modifying the notes, etc. After 1:39, the arrangement became too repetitive and lacked enough substance and development. Just randomly checking out different points in the song, the beats, the textures, the melody were all run into the ground until 3:57. Not a bad idea at 4:27 bookending the track with the toybox section from the beginning, though it was lame how it was a cut-and-paste job of the opening, rather than something new or markedly different. Palpable had a pretty good breakdown considering that he didn't have to source tune to check against. Don't have much more to say other than read his criticisms again; totally on point on the textures, production, sample quality, and weak transitions. NO

Hey guys. Here's a new song for the panel to review. Remixer: Random Hero Game Source: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) - Hidden Palace Theme (Sound Test: 10) Other sources: NONE! other then my own ideas. Sequencer: FL Studio Instruments: EWQLSO PRO XP Gold & Symphonic Choirs Song Info. If anyone is familiar with the rumours/stories that have been going around the internet concerning the one of the mysterious unfinished level in Sonic 2 known as "Hidden Palace", then they have probably heard about the story line in which Tails was originally supposed be a some sort of guardian stationed at this place. In this song I wanted to convey the loneliness that might have been felt by Tails as he spent all that time, alone, performing his solemn duty. The boy's choir was used to hopefully represent Tails' seemingly young, innocent nature. Compared to my other songs, especially the two which can be found at OCRemix, this one is a very sad, emotional piece (it almost made TWO of my friends cry). I have been working on it off and on since 2005. It has changed dramatically since then, and now is probably the song with the most original material of all my work to date. The song finally started to take shape earlier last fall. It was 60% complete when, on November 12, 2007, my grand father passed away due to a massive heart attack. This may have coloured the last part of the development and might be the reason for it sounding as sad as it does. If this song does make it onto the site, I would like to dedicate this song to my grand father, Klaus Staeben. He was a man who loved music of all types, no matter the source or what other people may have thought about it, a lot like myself. Enjoy Ryan ------------------------------------------------------------ http://project2612.org/download.php?id=37 - 31 "Unused (Sound Test 10)" [Hidden Palace Zone] The choir vox opening things up was a bit fakey sounding with just the one voice, but once more voices joined in for the harmonization at :15, the sound was a lot more serviceable, albeit overly quiet and on the thin side. Seemed like too much of a volume disparity between the vox and the strings once the latter picked up at :50. These samples weren't bad at all, but there's something not quite right about how everything pieces together. The higher strings strained for realism, and the overall "performance" has slightly stiff timing, though it could just be the sequencing of the pizz strings at 1:23 throwing me off. Later though, the piano at 4:39 had the same issues with the sample sounding thin and exposed and the timing feeling too mechanical. The whole track has that kind of underlying issue with it, the lack of realism in the sounds being accented by the sequencing. I'm generally down with the arrangement, Ryan, and am a big fan of the energy and grandioseness written into it. But the execution here lacks in the details that help a sequenced arrangement flow smoothly. I wouldn't mind a second opinion from zircon or anyone else that has a bead on this, just for someone to better articulate what the issues are. But as is, I'm trusting my ear on this one. The writing is solid, but the production needs more finesse. Very close; don't be discouraged at all, Ryan, you could get this one passed. Make sure to get some feedback before you resub! NO (refine/resubmit)

ReMixer name: halcyon Real name: Andrew Wheeler Email address: andrew@joename.com Userid: 13226 Name of game arranged: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Name of individual song arranged: Dark World ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=loz3 - "Dark World" (loz3-12.spc) Started off interesting enough, but the beats coming in at :16 had nothing behind 'em. It was like that the entire mix and hampered the energy level; put some meat on 'em. Same with the strings; they were ultra-dry and didn't pad up the background at all. Pretty much everything was dry-sounding now that I listen more closely. The textures ended up pretty empty despite all the stuff going on; there was nothing padding and filling out the soundfield. You'll need to utilize some effects on the existing parts and also probably add in some new ones for the background. Arrangement-wise, this was lots of fun; the programming and sound choices were very much in the style of chthonic, only without the polish. Hopefully other Js can give you viable advice on how to put more sonic substance into the background. Promising stuff so far, Andrew, but not something that a quick fix can take care of. It's certainly worth another shot over here as long as you get good feedback and don't rush a resubmission. NO (resubmit)

This is a remix of "On That Day, Five Years Ago" from "Final Fantasy VII". My name is James Kenny, and I suppose that can be my remixer name too...the song is mainly electronic/trip-hop-ish...it has the main instruments from the original song (strings section and harp), and also two guitars (both acoustic), some synthed instruments, a piano, and a beat. The song is called "Remember That Day". Also, there's a part at about 02:25 where it sounds like it may be clicking or skipping a little but that's just an echo from one of the instruments, and it isn't really that noticeable...I also have a myspace music account at http://www.myspace.com/jameskenny. ----------------------------------------------------------------- http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 204 "On That Day, 5 Years Ago" The opening plays pretty much like a PSF rip, it's so dead on with the original via the strings and harp. At :48 it segued over into some synths, beats and guitar and seemed like it would go in a different direction. Then those verbatim strings returned at 1:16; along with the harp returning at 1:44, I'm totally not feeling the verbatim usage of the core instruments, even though the supporting instrumentation is all new and interpretive, albeit repetitive. 2:24-2:39 went into some new original writing ideas on top of the harp part, but it was brief. Transition at 2:59 was pretty awkward, the harp sample sounded more exposed in places, and the whole section there was non-sequitur with the rest of the arrangement. As far as the standards go, I don't wanna listen to nearly the same sounds surrounded by some repetitive, underdeveloped new parts. This method is pretty risky in terms of helping the arrangement stand apart enough from the source, ripping off the core structure verbatim. You could do some cool thing interpreting the melodies and counter-melodies, even if just for part of the track. But if you're gonna go this verbatim strings and harp route, then 1) your other part-writing need to be more comprehensive, 2) you need to develop/vary those new ideas more, 3) you need to produce the new parts properly (guitar sounded really fake at 1:46, many of the string movements are unrealistically jerky sounding moving from note to note). As is, this is too underdeveloped, IMO. Keep working on it, James, this is a good base. NO

Jim Jam, maybe you missed it, but we're having a debate about the arrangement. 1) You have no specific comments on it, so if this interpretation passes, I have 0 idea why. Qualifying your arrangement call with at least something is basically required once others have a pretty major difference in their points-of-view. 2) Barring that, voting NO just because of the clipping is more of a conditional YES situation. To me, NO is reserved for situations beyond a quick fix of a minor issue. Then again, if it didn't sound like that kind of situation to you, my fault.

-RoeTaKa- -'Xenogears'- -"The Treasure Which Cannot Be Stolen"- Xenogears, I've never played this game and I really must give it a try some day. Mitsuda's work and style has become very familiar to me recently. This request, as requested by 'Arek the Absolute', to create a love song style of the song "The Treasure Which Cannot Be Stolen" was great to do. So alot of credit goes to him for the inspiration and concept. The piece revolves around orchestral elements that mainly focus on the strings, winds and harp. Since the piece has a fantasy quality to it, I was keen to induce acoustic guitar and rhodes piano to keep the spirit of the peice uplifted and sweet. Unusual of myself, I opted to ignore percussion elements to keep a certain suspension to the piece. The original song felt like an unintended love song, which Arek clearly pointed out aswell, so in places I chose to keep the source material unaltered but to improve the mood. I've been busy lately with original material and haven't been in the remixing game for a while. If you're familiar with DragonArmy, please continue to support us with whatever were doing http://www.arnoldascher.com/dragonarmyinc.html haha I am not even sure myself. Currently I am doing the soundtrack for a fan sequel to Chrono Trigger, http://www.chrono-crisis.com/ it's a huge project and is shaping up really well. So please support that if you're dead set on some sort of Chrono sequel. If this mix gets posted, by that time we might even have nearly finished a good amount of the game. Cheers! ----------------------------------------------------------- http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Xenogears_psf.rar - 116 "The Treasure Which Cannot Be Stolen" The soundfield was somewhat muddy, and some of the sequencing seemed a bit rigidly timed to start, but it quickly seemed better as things picked up. The piece had some fairly solid dynamics. The guitar or whatever acoustic string instrument that was, sounded a bit rigid with the sequencing as well, covered up better during some parts, but somewhat exposed in others. Pretty obvious flub at 2:54 with one of the string velocities that should be fixed up IMO. At 1:07 & 3:31, it also sounded unrealistic how loud the strings became compared to the previous note. I thought there was a lack of polish in the execution on this one that has me a little shaky, but I thought the arrangement and overall presentation was solid enough to get by. I really liked the approach on this one, and the result was pretty genteel. Still, could be some NOs, as this could be tightened up a bit. Good luck with the rest of the vote, Alex. If this doesn't make it, it shouldn't be far off. YES (borderline)

Great song. Too cover-ish sans the lyrics though. NO!

We're gonna not do that.

[12:29] <@Larry> hahaha, Jesse's not liking the NOs on the Shinesparks; we're not jazzing up her friend enough! [12:29] <@Larry> fuck it, I'm not gonna YES something off implied notes [12:29] <@Larry> implied ain't played [12:29] <@Larry> so NO [12:29] <@Larry> jazz snobbing on me I respect where you're coming from, kneejerk reaction aside, and I'm not gonna pretend I have your knowledge. But if I'm not explicitly hearing the source tune (doesn't mean every chord HAS to be explicitly voiced) and it's not jazzing up your friend, then I'm good. For the sections you're sticking up for, I'm not hearing the source directly in play for too much of this. If it's there, it's not recognizable to me, so it's too liberal and a no-go. Not to say everyone else would agree, but I'd have to think this could have been handled in a way that more explicitly used the source tune and would thus work more with the standards. Not that my vote is specifically being challenged, but I'm solid with my NO vote. This kind of like ktriton's previous Silent Hill medley, where it had similarities to the sources, but ultimately did too much of its own thing and went off the rails. Can some other theory-versed Js check this out?

Hi, Glad I came across your website! Contact Information: Remixer Name: Ekaj Real Name: Jake Rooney Email: tehekaj@gmail.com Website: http://myspace.com/ekajmusic Submission Information: Name of game arranged: Super Metroid Name of song: Lower Brinstar Hope you like it! Cheers, Jake (Ekaj) --------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=sm - "Brinstar Red Soil Swampy Area" (sm-20.spc) Expansive soundscape, but otherwise pretty similar to the original structure to start, though the melody and countermelody are modified a bit (sometimes just the 3rd beat, somtimes the 3rd & 4th beat). Subtle but viable interpretation there. Still in the buildup phase by 1:19 with the dropoff, but with a 5:50-long track there was plenty of room to work with. Built up into some nice beat work and the main melody fading it at 1:45, before bringing the power at 2:12. Definitely being groove biased here, but this was looking like a hell of a nice expansionist take like bLiNd's "Space Cowboys", retaining the structure, but otherwise beefing the hell out of it. Maybe the standard of "Space Cowboys doesn't hold up anymore, so we'll see. This isn't gonna win any award for melodic interpretation, but there was a bit done there. More importantly, the approach was expansive and personalized to the hilt. It's pretty interesting how this has a dark tone like the source tune, but addition of stuff like the breakbeats and gated synths clearly don't give off the same lonely energy the original does. Nonetheless, still a very spacious, well produced mix. I'm feeling like this will get NOed for being too conservative, but the sum total of the changes felt substantive enough to me. Good luck with the rest of the vote. If this doesn't make it, don't be discouraged from submitting again. I enjoyed the Dubstep Mix available from your MySpace page, particularly "Empty Can". Good stuff. YES

ReMixer name: trickwaters Real name: Patrick Waters Email address: waters.patrick@gmaNOSPAMil.com [remove NOSPAM] UserID: 10346 Game: Final Fantasy IV Source work: Into the Darkness Comments: /The Dark/ gestated in 2005 as one of several now lost and indefinitely abandoned projects following a massive data loss; the rebooted project began in late 2007 to be finished February 2008. The short tone poem draws on the music of Mahler, particularly his first and seventh symphonies, and of Debussy. A bassoon begins the piece, intoning the opening motive of the melody; it is joined by the other bass instruments of the orchestra as the line unfolds. In the second section, a solo violoncello carries the primary melodic material, colorfully accompanied by pizzicato and staccato strings and woodwinds. The final section explores the canonic possibilities of the source tune as various parts of the orchestra laminate the texture leading to the climax with chromatically altered harmonies, resolving to the sudden and subdued coda-like conclusion; the final, hushed utteration of the motive comes from the lowest register of the solo cello. Scored for two flutes, alto flute, three oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, three horns, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, tam-tam, celesta, two harps, organ, and strings with solo violoncello. ------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff4 - "Into the Darkness" (ff4-12.spc) Opened up very, very quiet. Very, very, very, quiet. Picked up nicely at :55 to show there was a purposeful dynamic curve. Brass at 1:33 was quiet albeit exposed, but I loved the take on the melody at 1:41. Really quiet again, but we'll see where it goes. Good layering of other instruments as the theme repeated. Nice escalation at 2:59, though the bowed strings got horribly exposed from 3:09-3:21, which was a little sloppier than what I expected. Nitpicky or not, Patrick is pretty deliberate about his sounds. Brass may be harder to pull off (fakey again from 3:44-3:57), but I'd think the strings there wouldn't have been left like that. Still pretty minor issues, IMO. Love the arrangement. A lot quieter than most subs we get, but I've been told it's typical enough for the genre (shows how much I listen to). The dynamic curve was solid though, and I appreciated how intricate some of the sections sounded. Good stuff, Patrick. YES

Contact Information ReMixer Name: Oscillated Future Real Name: Myles Email Address: pureenergy5002@hotmail.com Website: http://www.myspace.com/oscillatedfuture User ID: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=23164 Submission Information Name of Game Arranged: Final Fantasy VII Original Song Title: A Secret, Sleeping in the Deep Sea ReMix Song Title: A Journey Into the Deep Abyss Comments: A true FFVII classic that is sometimes overlooked, but very dear to my heart! Please let me know if there's any further information needed. (This is my first submission) ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 404 "A Secret, Sleeping in the Deep Sea" You have some decent ideas to start. I like how you altered the rhythm of the source tune to intro this one. Ah MAN, what the fuck... :'-( Bah, some weak beats entered in at :30. I literally stopped the track to go "What the fuck?!?" When the barebones clap/hat groove entered in at :30 along with the ultra-fake, ultra-thin MIDI-ish guitar sequencing at :44, this was dead in the water. You have some good concepts, moreso for the opening rhythms and lead, but the textures were flimsy, and the sequencing for some parts sounded too mechanical. On top of that, the groove (despite the occasional dropoffs) was overly simplistic and repetitive as hell. I could skip to nearly any point in the song and that lame perc groove and/or kick pattern is on complete cruise control, just swapping out one of the parts every now and then. You could honestly ditch maybe 3 minutes of this song due to the repetition. Trim the fat. The changeup at 5:30 was at least a little something different with the J-E-N-O-V-A-ish piano, but what was the point of even introducing that in the last couple of seconds? Get on those ReMixing forums and soak up knowledge, then use the Works boards for some feedback before you try submitting again. You've got a long way to go before you achieve sophisticated results. You have the right idea at the start in terms of changing the feel of the original, but then the structure ended up being repetitive and lazy. NO

"What if we say no?" - LT Hi, here's a remix I've been wanting to do for a long time, and finally did it. As I'm quite happy with the result, I thought I'd see if you like it enough to post on the site, and also in order to receive some honest feedback. The remix is highly influenced by The Wicked (one of my favorite metal bands), Danny Elfman's work, and the 1989 movie "Batman". Contact Info: Remixer: Diseased Project Real name: Timo Niemelä Website: http://diseasedproject.atspace.com Submission Info: Name of game arranged: The Adventures of Batman & Robin (please note that it's the SNES version, which is a completely different game than the GEN-version. They only share the same name) Name of individual songs arranged: City & Funhouse respectively ----------------------------------------------------------- Not sure why this sub had the name of one of the SPC files, especially one that doesn't seem to be involved in the arrangement. Oh well. http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=abr - "Tale of the Cat" (abr-14.spc) & "Joker's Funhouse" (abr-05.spc) As much as I love the clip opening things up, it's arguably too long. I have no idea what's being used after 1:48 because it doesn't particularly sound like "Joker's Funhouse", but the structure sounds taken from one of the tunes. More Batman score stuff that I DO recognize as being used in "Joker's Funhouse", from 2:21-2:30 & 2:47-3:15. Joker clips were overused at 2:31 and 2:42. Just sounds thrown in there for no real reason. With the way this is, I'd just settle for using the clips to intro and outro the piece. Don't add tackiness by overdoing it. Melodically and structurally, not much difference from the originals, both "Tale of the Cat" and the Batman movie score parts I recognized from "Joker's Funhouse". Even retaining basically the same instrumentation for the leads. It's a cool cover and there's some expansion, but not particularly interpretive in any way. Anyway, even if everything was clicking on all cylinders with the performance and production, the source tunes use parts of the Batman movie score, so you've inherited them here (e.g. 1:11-1:29). Unfortunately though, we don't accept tracks incorporating substantial non-VGM arrangement. It doesn't matter that the movie score was weaved into the game soundtrack, because the movie score wasn't originally created for this game soundtrack. (Section 3, Part 3 of the Standards: "Any incorporation or arrangement of source material not from games (mainstream, classical, etc.) should be extremely limited.") 55 seconds' worth of a 2:54-long arrangement (only counting the music) is clearly going beyond "extremely limited." So in short, lengthy usage of the movie score = no-go. Even if the source material was all clear, this was too cover-ish and not interpretive enough, both in the lead instrumentation and the structure. The way this was put together was otherwise good, IMO, and if you came at us with a more interpretive arrangement, I think you'd have a good shot at passing, Timo. That being said, I definitely hope you'll submit more material in the future. NO

Remixer Name: Uboichi Real Name: Uub Jacobson User ID: 10339 Game arranged: Kingdom Hearts 2 Song arranged: Darkness of the Unknown Composer: Yoko Shimomura System: PS2 I haven't got a clue what gotten into me when I decided to arrange this piece for 2 pianos. Not because it's a crazy idea ('cause it isn't), but more because I started with this arrangement about 8 months ago. It's so long ago that I simply don't remember why I started it. When I first got close to finishing this piece my computer broke down. It was horrible, I couldn't make music on my PC anymore! So I saved some money every month for a few months so I could buy myself a brand new PC. But that saving took me so long that I didn't have my PC untill last week. So if anyone remembers this being on the WIP forum, this is why it took me so long to finish it.

Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3057 Link to ReMix - Dreamstone Legend (may need to right-click and use Save As to get clean playback) Contact Information * ReMixer name - J.B.Garren * Real name - Jeremy B. Garren * Email address - jbgarren@mail.utexas.edu * Website - http://home.actlab.utexas.edu/~garrenjb/music.html * Userid - 22713 Submission Information * Name of game arranged - Chrono Trigger * Name of individual song arranged - Battle With Magus * Original by Nobuo Uematsu, Noriko Matsueda, Yasunori Mitsuda, SNES * Link to the original soundtrack (if needed) magusbattle.mp3 * Comments - Although I doubt anyone will recall, a much earlier version of this work was declined for submission two years ago. Looking back, I can see why, although I suppose that is simply the nature of experience. Having recently come back to it and spent time reworking it, the piece is now significantly different and significantly better. In this work I wanted to create tension and weight in between the dark descending theme typically associated with Magus and the more heroic theme that appears later in the original. One result of this is that the music never settles into a groove, but is in a fairly constant state of change up until the conclusion, perhaps like an actual battle. I suppose good wins in the end. The work often approaches full orchestral, although certain elements, (such as the much debated guitars), drag it back to a somewhat more electronic feel. Certainly there are plenty of Chrono Trigger remixes already out there, and already a few dealing with my source theme. Despite this, I have an invested personal stake in Dreamstone Legend, considering how much time and effort this project has sucked out of me. I may have gone through more versions of this song than any other I have ever crafted. In any case, I would like to finally call this piece done, so I hope you enjoy it. -J.B.G. ----------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ct - "Battle with Magus" (ct-224.spc) Really loved the tenseness and subtle evolution of the intro; very excellent. Some beats were added in at :45. I thought the fast strings at :47 were a bit exposedm as well as mixed too quietly, but we'll see if there are any differing opinions. The Slayer-ish electric guitar synth at 1:03 sounded a little annoying to start, but was worse 1:12 when it was given a more substantive role. I dunno who decided this was a good substitute sound for a real electric guitar, but, shit, it's always bad. It creates a big quality disparity compared with the other sounds. Even looking at your WIP thread, you knew it wasn't working right. So why would I think it works? The times that synth works the most effectively are when it's not used in the role of an authentic electric guitar. It's used fairly decently here, but it's not melodious, a lot of the velocities sounded very similar, and the sequencing felt too perfectly timed, leaving the sound very robotic-sounding. Unfortunate, given that the other parts were clicking so well. The piano at 1:57 had similar sequencing issues that exposed the sample. The soundfield felt somewhat cluttered and could be sharpened up with some EQ work, but it wasn't much of an issue. There were other, smaller details that might be covered in other votes. But the main crit from me: find a better guitar or other sound in place of that Slayer-ish stuff, make sure the sequencing is on point, and IMO you'd have this track clicking strongly enough on all levels. I'm not saying steal Niggasamples, but there's gotta be either a way to produce the synths better or find a more suitable sound. Big Giant Circles might be able to make suggestions on working with Slayer, or sounds similar to it, to achieve a better result. Solid base, J.B., don't be discouraged if this doesn't make it as is. This needs some fine tuning, but you've definitely improved your game since the last time I've heard your work. NO (resubmit)

I've now sent everyone the email to everyone letting you guys who participated know what the status is. Like I mentioned, any questions/comments/etc, please let us know in the thread! Thank you all for sending in some quality AMVs!

I'll try to check into the aforementioned issues this evening if possible.

Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! - 01 "Last Rites/Loved to Deth" http://www.zophar.net/gsf/cvaos_gsf.rar - 10 "Clock Tower" djpretzel was saying that he personally felt 40 seconds worth of non-VGM-based arrangement (in this case, Megadeth's "Last Rites/Loved To Deth") for a near 4 1/2 minute submission was still too much, so we'll see what happens from his side if this passes. The rule on outside source usage hasn't been tested much since "A Star Freezes Over." Objectively, the usage fitting thematically with the arranged game music shouldn't be a factor as to whether it's viable, and should never be used as an argument. Any artist worth their salt should be able to make the arrangement of a non-VGM source fit comfortably with the VGM portions. Anyway, the track really got underway at :43. On some level I can understand zircon's criticisms about a lack of dynamic contrast and lack of aggression, but nothing felt like a dealbreaker here or even a significant problem in the slightest. While there were some more interpretive sections, the arrangement felt a lot more like an expansive cover rather than a drastic reinterpretation, so I would have liked to have seen more risks taken with the structure. Regardless, still some solid stuff here; very easy to see how this placed so high for DoD's Castlevania month. Not much to say other than that this was a solid rock cover. Not to shit on zircon at all, but what's the problem? I agree it could be more dynamic, but what's in place here sounds good nonetheless. The volume and production aspects David mentioned are a non-issue with me; I thought this was well above our standards. But this had :43 seconds' worth of Megadeth as part of a 264-second arrangement or 16.287%. I know we don't have a percentage threshold, but if djp's not comfortable with this amount of usage in spite of this passing, then I'm fine with a veto. Hate to NO this, but looking at our wording in the Standards ("Any incorporation or arrangement of source material not from games (mainstream, classical, etc.) should be extremely limited"), about 1/6th is too much for me to call extremely limited. I'm making it very clear, that this is the only reason I'm voting NO. If djpretzel clarified that this amount of mainstream usage is allowed, I'd be more than happy to change my vote. If the track is rejected, David, please consider submitting an edited version without the Megadeth intro, or with an abbreviated cut of the intro (e.g. starting from :26 or :31). I think this is a well-performed piece and would love to see it up in some form! NO (resubmit)