Chimpazilla

Vinnie has covered the issues well. This is a great start! It won't take too much to bring it up to OCR level I think. The track is mastered to about -3db, which feels oddly quiet for a rock track such as this. I think you could easily bump it up closer to 0db, just be careful not to squash it in the process. The drums feel sooooo quiet and distant. I think they could come up in volume somewhat. Also, the bass is almost comically quiet. From 0:25-0:49 it is really apparent that there is a balance issue with the lead guitar, bass and drums. The guitar writing and soloing is good and so are the rhythm guitars. The arrangement does have a bit of samey-ness going on, Vinnie mentioned the verbatim A-section after that little synthy interlude at 2:25. That would be a perfect opportunity to do some really wild solo there. Also I feel like that little interlude does more to stop the flow of the song than anything else, and would probably be a better transition with just an extended guitar chord or something. NO (resubmit)

I remember hearing and commenting on the first iteration of this track in the wip forum! I was immediately blown away by Markus's keyboarding skillz. This mix has come a LONG way since then, the mixing has improved, the soundscape is fleshed out better, it really REALLY grooves right along! I still find those claps cheesy but that's my opinion. I think with a different sample and a bit more effects, the claps would have a better impact. I don't have a big problem with the fake brass, it sounds more like a brass synth to me than something that's actually trying to be brass. It could have a little more reverb and be blended in better, sure. But I feel like that faux-brass is working (especially given how much fake brass exists in the source tune!) Sadly I have to cosign that there isn't enough source for this to get over the OCR bar. Markus you've done some really dynamite soloing as usual, unfortunately that takes the arrangement a little too deep into original territory. Revise it if you want, but if not, it's a really excellent stand-alone piece. NO

I'll cosign on the "not quite enough source" statement. Really close though, won't take too much to get just a bit more recognizable source in there. Well produced track otherwise! The vocal portions of this track contain no source. This arrangement reminds me of another that I'm familiar with, which includes essentially source-free vocal interludes, making the arrangement a bit "disjointed"... (but with juuuust enough source in the rest of the track, it still passed!) NO (resubmit)

Happy birthday Rexy, and congrats on the GB floodpost! Nice timing btw, timing your birthday with the GB release!

I like the western/train themed idea, very interesting adaptation of this source. Source use is covered, no issue there. I agree with Vinnie's crits, and I'll add that those shakers are too loud/relentless and need volume variation, and also the song tends to get quite busy with every instrument playing a busy line at the same time, all the way through. This makes the arrangement feel hectic and no instrument gets a chance to shine. When the violin is playing lead, it is totally buried, and you've got a banjo-sounding thing that is panned totally to the right (and another plucked instrument panned totally left) which sounds a bit odd. The writing might sound less hectic if the balances were adjusted so the violin lead would be the loudest thing with the other elements pushed back and panned less severely. The track is super short. I'd suggest adding a couple of softer sections, without the drum loop, with just a couple of elements and light percussion. Some drum variation throughout the track would be nice too. Also, that ending is super abrupt with no warning or cool-down or transition first, so it feels like it is just tacked onto the end. NO (resubmit)

edit 8/4/14: Have Will and I been too hard on this mix? Their first "Liquid Metal" mix was similar in many ways, minus the hip hop interlude, and it passed, partially based on comedic value. Could this mix be passable similarly? -------------------------------------------- What is this I don't even. Oh good lord, Brandon. Those screamo vocals. I know you think I hate screamo vocals, and tbh they aren't my favorite, but that's irrelevant. If they fit in nicely with the track, that's one thing. Here, I think there are some mismatched elements going on. First, the entirety of the lyrics are screamed (with the exception of the hip hop interlude). I think it would work better if a portion of the lyrics were just sung instead of screamed, the screamed portions would have more impact. Some of the instrumentation is really soft and gentle, you've got a bell-like e-piano and some gentle synth stuff that is mixed quietly and just sounds too out of place with the screamo stuff. It creates quite a contrast that I'm not sure is working in a cohesive way. The vocals feel too loud and upfront to me, but I think they are balanced right... I think they sound so loud to me because the backing synth work is too soft and "nice" to support them, despite the rhythm guitar work going on. That hip hop interlude is cool as hell! Well performed. And it doesn't seem to fit in. The transitions in and out of that section feel a bit awkward, I think there's no real good way around that due to the drastically different styles. It's a VERY bold idea... just doesn't quite work imo. As usual, the guitar work and drumming are excellent, kick and snare could be a drop louder. Four sources, used VERY creatively and well, really great arrangement. Lyrics, fish sticks, bacon, wat. Haha I love the silly lyrics. Lots of stuff working well here, ridiculously unique ideas, but some issues I just can't look past. NO

Contact Information ReMixer name: Txai Real name: Txai Viegas Userid (number, not name) on our forums: 10937 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Sega Rally Championship Name of arrangement: Autos, Arps & Minimoogs Name of individual song(s) arranged: Desert Replay Composer: Naofumi Hataya System: Sega Saturn This is my contribution to OCR's VROOM: The Best of SEGA Racing ReMix Project. While listening to the sources available on the project thread, one of the songs was sorta just screaming "Reeeemix meeeeeee!" to me. I started working on it in january 2011 and was pretty much done with it by june 2012. The song itself is a Funky House treatment with lots of varied synths, brass, acoustic instruments, etc. There is also a healthy dose of percussive elements to go with it. AkumajoBelmont was thrilled with my rendition, marking me down as having submitted my final at the time. Enjoy. EDIT (11/14) - More info from Txai: I am letting you know I certainly used more of the source in my rendition. The soloing from 3:52 to 4:23 is https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=170&v=EJxHEgBRqhM . That is 2:50 - 3:16 of the original. And if this helps, 4:22-4:54 is https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=46&v=61tn5WXnCws , a Sega Genesis game with music also by Naofumi Hataya. Would this solve the source usage issue? ------------------------------------

The kick drum is the worst offender here. This really needs a soft orchestral-type bass drum. The snare is more ok but should be softened, possibly with a different sample, especially some of the harder hits. The xylophone bothers me too, as every strike is the same velocity, and those fakey runs really stick out when the xylophone is exposed. The writing is a bit blocky, but still this would most likely pass imo with the drum corrections and a few velocity variations in that xylophone. NO (resubmit)

Can the judges djp? The judges cannot djp. djp should probably can the judges. The question is, can djp do the can-can? How shall we judge this? I believe djp lika do the cha-cha. Happy birthday, dear leader!

I paneled this because I absolutely LOVE dub, and this source seems to work really well with that style. I love the concept of the reverby background piano/organ stabs, and I really like the filtering and effects before the drop. (Make sure you high-pass your reverb though, so it doesn't get too muddy.) Drums sound pretty good, hats are a touch loud, and a little more drum-writing variation wouldn't hurt, but what's here is working well. I like the delay on the claps. Track has good groove. The mix has a few problems though, the first is that every instrument is written with super mechanical timing. Another problem is that there is zero writing variation on the theme from the original, making the track super repetitive. The instrumentation doesn't change, other than adding another layer of horns, so with the exact same writing, it is much too repetitive. I'd suggest using different leads for a section or two, and varying the melody a little bit somewhere, possibly making one section a unique solo, or even adding a breakdown. Dub breakdowns are the coolest. Also, it is very hard to get sampled horns to sound realistic, it does take a lot of work and know-how to layer articulations well enough to make it realistic. It will sound better if the timing isn't quite so perfect, also the horns are mixed very brightly, dryly, and loudly making their sampley-ness stick out like a sore thumb. I would suggest a few things here: first of all, vary the writing! Change up those samey verses a bit, write a solo somewhere. Resist the urge to over-quantize. Take some of the highs out of the trumpets, give them some realistic reverb, and tame their volume for better overall balance (horns are much too far forward). Try some different samples if you have any more available to you, check into some different soundfonts or whatever you have access to. Try layering samples and articulations. Good luck and I hope to hear this back! NO (resubmit)

Remixer name: elandy Real name: Andres Politi email: userid: 52503 Name of games arranged: Sonic & Knuckles Name of arrangement: Dub and shrooms Name of individual song arranged: Mushroom hill zone act 1 Link to file: ----------------------------------------------------------

This is insanely creative and very well produced. It's a bit medley-ish, but revisits the themes often enough to avoid that imo. My concerns are mainly with the odd transitions and with some of the suuuuuuuper sparse sections. I'm sure this was all done purposely but I'm not sure if it will fly or not. For me, this track is a piece of artwork just as it is, and I love it, whether it passes in this form or not. I'll wait to see other reviews, but for now I'm a YES

Remixer name: Redg Real name: Brent Wollman My website: https://soundcloud.com/brent-wollman UserID: 41181 Game arranged: The legend of zelda, and a link to the past Name of arrangement: You Will Not Survive Name of individual songs arranged: Underworld, The Goddess Appears, Game over Remix link: https://soundcloud.com/brent-wollman/you-will-not-survive Wherein Link dies twice then says "eh, fuck it" Featuring the notable talents of Brendan Hannigan in the outro section. Check his Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/brendanhannigan Breakdown: Intro-2:00 The Underworld Theme all the way. There's a little interlude with no real source usage near the beginning just before the plunge 2:00-3:00 The Godess Appears 3:00-3:55 Under World Theme is back with vengeance 3:55-4:38 Game over 4:38-out The Godess Appears dungeon (NES): game over (NES): goddess appears (alttp):

Name of Remix: The Dream In My Reality Games Remixed: Final Fantasy, X-2, XII and XIII Source tracks: Kiss Me Goodbye, YRP Battle 3, Blinded By Light Musicians: AngelCityOutlaw, Argle, Chernabogue, XPRTNovice Since everyone remixes the hell out of FFs VI-VII and sometimes X, I thought it would be cool to show love to the under-appreciated and/or hated FF games. So I made a pretentious-sounding half prog-rock, half jazz arrangement of three tracks from three different Final Fantasy games. I played the guitars and did most of the arrangement, Argle did the mixing, hammond organ, additional strings and gave the drums a makeover. Chernabogue did some string sequencing (he also did brass, but I wound up just using the strings) XPRTNovice did the piano sequencing and played that awesome saxophone in the last half of the song. Yep, that's about all I have to say. I attached the mp3, which is a bit different from the version I have posted on soundcloud and YouTube. Argle says: "AngelCityOutlaw approached me to mix this track, which I did, being a fan of prog metal. Along the way I replaced some of the sounds and added some of my own material to the track, to help fully realize the sound I heard in my head. So it ended up being a more general collaborative effort. Listening to the great performances turned in by AngelCityOutlaw and XPRTnovice made me want to squeeze every drop of potential out of the arrangement." Chernabogue says: "I have nothing to say, except I was happy to help!" XPRTNovice says: "......." Simon Says: "YES this thing. You know you wanna!" Anyway, thanks for listening.

first resub decision original decision ReMixer name: AlmightyArceus Real Name: Jordan Email: UserID: 33305 Game Arranged: Pokemon Black/White, Black 2/White 2; Chrono Trigger Name of Arrangement: "Oracle of the Spire" Name of Individual Songs Arranged: "Tower of Heaven"; "Secret of the Forest" Link to each original: Tower of Heaven: Secret of the Forest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJzedahyjXE Comments: So this is an old project that was really my first/most ambitious shot at getting on OCRemix. I submitted this remix twice, and the second try it was just shy of passing. I've had this retooling of this mix sitting here for over a year now, so I figured I'd give it another try. There are a lot of chordal changes and fun little interludes intermixed within this remix of mine. I tried to capture a more playful tone than the original "Tower of Heaven" which is a more somber and discomforting tune that plays mainly in minor/augmented chords. My mix is heavily based in Bb major and creates a much more light feeling, and the lead synth plays up high while the pads add that white cloud for which it is to play on. The Chrono Trigger part comes in near the end, and was incorporated later into the mix due to many people pointing out the similarities between the themes. I decided to have a little fun referencing it in its own little bridge section near the end. This section is darker than the opening section, and comes after a section that emulates the tension from the original "Tower of Heaven" theme and then breaks down into this more somber section. Coming straight out of the bridge you see the light once more and the synth begins playing and prancing around at the top as before. I worked off a lot of the comments that were left on the previous mix, and so altered my ending which some of the judges had called a "cop out" ending, and made it more long the lines of playful and happy, as a bit of a last hurrah up in the clouds, ending on a harmonious Eb major chord. It's a fun piece to listen to in my own opinion, and I hope that I bring that same emotion to you, and that this old piece that I have been working on since my start at OCR will gain your approval. Thanks! Link to Remix: (remix also attached)

Ladies and gentlemen and judges, the moment you've been waiting for I'm sure, Liquid Metal 2: Even Wetter aka Liquid Metal 2: Liquid Harder aka Liquid Metal 2: It Has Electrolytes ReMixers ----- Brandon Strader - everything but what the other people did Rexy - female screams, as Splash Woman again like from the first Liquid Metal Jivemaster - the rapper for the rap break, as Dr. Wily Games: Mega Man 2, 3, 9, 10 Sources: Wily Stage 2-1 (MM2), Proto Man (MM3), Splash Woman (MM9), Commando Man (MM10) Too many sources this time. I hope I've remembered them all. Title: Liquid Metal 2: Even Wetter (in the absence of a colon, please dash.) This is the third song for the "Going Commando" EP. It is a sequel to Liquid Metal from The Wettening which was also featured on the OC ReMix front page to massive critical acclaim. :'( 'Liquid Metal 2: Even Wetter' has a stronger low end which is downright thunderous on a good sound system. I thought it was a mistake when I was reamping the guitars and they came out so heavy on the low-end, but quickly learned it was not. I brought back Rexy for some BRITISH female screams. She even did some sexy moans, that was awesome. Jivemaster is rapping and brought a nice AUSTRALIAN tint to the song. I had done a full album of metal growls for Zoltan's upcoming first album "First Fantasy". I was at the top of my game while doing that album, and after I was done, I stopped growling. Eventually my voice got really weak again. Lately, it has felt like it is damaged, and I wake up coughing, almost like I had blown it out at some point. Despite that, I tried to "bring it" for my growls on this song. Not as strong as the Zoltan album, but certainly not bad. They're on par if not a little better than the original Liquid Metal. Also I should explain the unwritten joke of the lyrics. If you notice, Commando Man is not featured, this is because from my understanding he is a very large, bulky tank, and as a result would not be capable of any form of undersea travel. Source 0:00 - 0:06 - Proto Man Whistles 0:06 - 0:12 - Commando Man 0:12 - 0:19 - Proto Man 0:26 - 1:02 - Commando Man 1:05 - 1:56 - Proto Man 1:56 - 2:23 - Wily Stage 2-1 2:41 - 3:08 - Splash Woman (on the synth thingy) 3:08 - 3:22 - Proto Man 3:22 - 4:01 - Wily Stage 2-1 4:01 - 4:27 - Proto Man 4:27 - 4:55 - Wily Stage 2-1 Listen for synth or 80s ensemble string lead (also sounds like a synth) for a lot of source usage. commando man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bszIJrNxFQY splash woman: proto man's theme: wily stage 1/2:

This track has some great qualities, and the arrangement works, but it has just enough production issues to hold it back. Larry's right about the plodding snare, it feels plodding because the timbre doesn't really fit, it's too snappy. The kick has too much high-end click also, making the kick stick out too much. The guitars by contrast feel like they don't have enough presence, they are loud enough but somehow don't cut through the mix that well, they almost sound low-passed compared to the synths. The synth work sounds good, it is mixed better and more cleanly than the guitars are. I agree with Larry there are some parts of the arrangement that feel too empty, like 1:35-2:00. The phasing on the guitar at 2:52 seems a bit cheesy, sorry to say. NO (resubmit)

Vocal-hate doods come on out! Haha! I paneled this for a few reasons. The idea is super creative, source a-plenty, and the backing instrumentation is very cool. The piano is a bit mechanical in timing and velocities. The mixing could be a little bit cleaner, but generally it sounds pretty groovy. I think you may have overdone it with the icecubes, it sounds like it was done purposely. Maybe adding a little audience sfx might make it feel more realistic? I think the lyrics are hilarious and the whole concept is cool, but the vocals are just too loud compared to the rest. For kooky vocals like this, the less "in your face" the better! I'd recommend lowering the volume, and taking a bit of the low end out of it, if the vocals fit in better it's going to sound a lot different. edit 9/6/14: Ok so I won't hold this up. The mixing issues and ice cubes aside, it is a fun, creative track. YES

Hi, this is Thaddeus Jaworsky with another Megarockman song for ya. website for song (including lyrics): Remix Artist: MEGAROCKMAN Song name: The Iceman Clubbeth From game: Mega Man From stage: Iceman Inspiration: This theme called for a cool jazz/lounge tune. While singing, I held a glass of half-melted ice cubes that I'd occasionally shake around near the mic to give that cocktail lounge feel... as if the singer were drinking a scotch on the rocks while performing in some ice cave / secret jazz cove. Story: This song portrays Ice Man as a blood/fur thirsty arctic dweller who brutalizes a variety of aquatic mammals... as well as any other creature he happens to come across, I'm sure. Please enjoy! -THAD

Wow, I'm loving this arrangement, it has great flow and dynamics and a nice mix of instrumentation, lots of attention to detail. Really nice blending of the sources. Hats are a little loud (and machine-gunish at 2:34), snare is a little weak. Mixing is just a tad indistinct, could stand a bit of cleanup but it's workable. Synth work is really great with some really fun soloing. Overall, this is a winner! edit 9/22/14: I won't hold this up. I really like this track. Do the eq cleanup and humanization tweaks mentioned, get the production sounding really tight, and resubmit it please! NO(resubmit)

Wow, only 1:48, it feels much longer because it's action-packed. I love the genre adaptation. I agree some of the stereo separation is a bit too wide, the violin is all the way to the left, just a bit too far. I have to agree that a little bit more arrangement development would be great. Some kind of breakdown or original transition section would add some length to the arrangement and vary the mood and dynamics as well as add some interpretation to the source melody. I'm sort of on the fence with this one, it's really cool, love the concept, performances are impressive, just needs a little bit more work. NO (resubmit)

Well this is soft and lovely, but I think there isn't enough source use. (I haven't done a breakdown but I can if needed) In between the motifs, there is an awful lot of empty-ish space, the chords seem to drag on forever. The strings have an unnatural attack. Most of the track is extremely quiet. Maybe this is a matter of taste but this song really drags for me, at least until the brass swell at 5:06. I don't think I can get behind this one, but I will consider what the other judges have to say. I looked up LindsayAnne's posted mix, it was posted in 2004 and the production sounds exactly the same as this track. NO

I really like the idea of putting this melody over such a different chord structure and groove! But yeah the production needs some more development here. That drum groove is way too simple, claps are super dry, kick is weak, and the shaker is much too loud. The sitar is indeed a highlight. I'd love to hear some extra synth detail (arps, sequences, etc.) and/or sfx to keep things interesting, especially given how simple and repetitive the bassline is and how the underlying chord structure never varies (this can totally work if there is SUPER interesting stuff going on on top). I agree with Justin that the main synth is a bit underwhelming, but again, with some additional fun details and/or modulation, it could be perfect. (the glitching at 0:51 and the reverb automation at 0:58 are wonderful) I always think it's a great idea to use a different lead here and there to keep it fresh. Bass could have more presence and more lows. The Mario "let's go" is too loud. This arrangement has great promise! Let's hear it again with more attention to detail. And yes, some kind of ending please! NO (resubmit)

Fantastic arrangement! Great choice of instrumentation, very cohesive, exciting solos, really fun and well executed track. Nice job guys!

This. This. THIS.