Fringale

Not familiar with the source, but I liked this orchestral cover, especially the darker part starting at 1:45. There was just one thing I found funky: at 0:27 and 0:42, that lower brass on the left sounded slightly out of tune, you might want to look onto that.

I had an enjoyable listen, especially given the... peculiar source. I'd say it was a good call to transpose that melody, although I don't know if it is still recognizable enough, if you intend to submit it. However I have a few remarks if you will (I'm by no mean an expert though, so take them with a grain of salt): - The soundscape strikes me as odd, as everything seems either panned to the extremes or stereo'd, which leaves the center kinda empty (and gives the piece a somewhat 'hollow' feeling). More specifically, panning the snare right was a curious choice, I couldn't get used to it. - Regarding the drums, I found them quite repetitive and mechanical, and the instrumentation as a whole would benefit greatly from more humanization and pattern variations. It gets reallly noticeable the further the track progresses. - On that subject, I feel the piece is kinda long for its own good. I would have prefered if it were 1 or 2 minutes shorter, or had more sonic variety and stand-out/memorizable moments (I'd say the 2nd part of the track lacks some focus as a whole, as the synth-guitar melody/solo from 3:45 onward seemed a bit random at times, and chord changes are very few and far between). Hopefully I didn't come across as too negative, please keep at it!

I'll mostly echo the sentiment above: awesome technique, and a really good, powerful arrangement. I would have loved some more variation though (at least regarding chord progressions), and as such I thought that last go at 4:10 was kinda unnecessary and made the piece overstays its welcome. It may also be the Schala melody on keyboard that gets a bit tiring after a while. But all in all, I loved it.

Wow, I'm really digging it. Love the groove on the chorus, and that ending is the icing on the cake.

A new version is up, featuring a slight touch-up on crash cymbals, and overall reduced loudness / overcompresssion (more specifically on the 'let's throw everything at the listener's face' part starting at 4:45). ...Would you say the track is in a submissible (enough) shape?

To quote a famous ancient greek god whose hobbies include resurrecting dead threads centurions : WISE FWOM YOUR GWAVE! So, well, after casting aside this remix in late 2011 (as at that time I felt I couldn't bring it up to submission standards no matter what I did or tried), I recently gave it another go and updated it to my current sound libraries / effects, amongst a whole bunch of other tweaks. The guitar recording is still the same, though. I edited the first post with the latest remix version and all relevant information. I would gladly welcome any feedback. And many thanks Level 99 for your comment. Unfortunately I saw it quite some time after this tune and I had become, well, estranged, for a lack of a better word.

Bumping and flagging for mod review. I'd like to get pointers on areas in need of improvements, and to know how far this track is from something that could be submitted. In the meanwhile, enjoy the music (link in post above) and feel free to criticize!

New version is up at last - now with more bagpipes and brand new EQ! => https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1288634/OCR/Panzer%20Dragoon%20Zwei%20-%20The%20Sky%20Boat%20(Main%20Theme)%20-%2020110928.mp3 It took me waaay longer than I expected to get this second version out. In my defence (if I need one), my speakers died on me two weeks after I posted the original version, which didn't exactly help. And I have to confess, I redid the EQ from scratch... twice. Hopefully, it is better now (at least, I learned quite a few things in the process). Thanks in advance for listening and feedbacking! (is that a word?)

Thanks for the comments! : ) I'll look into the guitar EQ. I know that the rhythm guitars still need some beefing up (most apparent at 1:05, when they are exposed) - I thought I had it checked, but seems it was not enough. Unless you were talking about one of the lead guitars? Also, I'm not too sure about bringing back the bagpipes out of the blue at 1:50 and 4:05, as it feels a bit like a afterthought (which, well, they are). I'll try to update soon!

Hi! Long time listener (and lurker), I finally posted my first WIP of my first game remix ever. I'm all fuzzy inside... I play electric guitar moderately well, and I'm not quite there when it comes to production values. But hey, I want to improve!

Hey there! Lots of firsts for me with this thread: first post on OCR, first game remix, first track that I take the time to actually polish. Anyway, here's my take on the main theme of Panzer Dragoon Zwei, one of my cherished games back in the Saturn days. I took the main melody (about 30-40 seconds) and for good or bad turned it into some 5min+ prog metal/rock number. I'm afraid it's quite liberal, but hopefully it doesn't cross the line. Source: ReMix: current version 31/07/2015 version (ending a bit on the loud side) older version from october 2011 (different mix and libraries) Source breakdown: 0:00 - 0:45 | Theme on bagpipes 0:45 - 1:22 | Theme variations played by the two lead guitars 1:22 - 1:40 | Original part (melody is actually borrowed from a folk song) 1:40 - 2:17 | Further variations on lead guitar and bagpipes (more loosely connected) 2:17 - 2:35 | Original part 2:35 - 3:49 | Variations on clean guitar 3:49 - 4:07 | Theme played by bass 4:07 - 4:27 | Loose variation on lead clean guitar 4:27 - 4:45 | Guitar solo loosely based on theme 4:45 - 5:04 | Theme on bagpipes, harmonized theme on lead guitar 5:04 - 5:13 | More variations on lead guitar and bagpipes 5:13 - 5:45 | Theme ending repeated Some interesting and not-so-interesting trivia about the track: - The Sky Boat in the title stands for the airship Shelcoof, which Lundi and his dragon Lagi chase throughout the whole game. But it also refers to a Scottish folk song called The Skye Boat Song, which is not an uncommon tune to play on bagpipe. I actually used the melody from this song at 1:22. - I'm pretty sure Grandia's Farewell To Sue was an inspiration for the part beginning at 3:49. This song had quite an impact on me when I was young. On an unrelated note: the soundtrack had some bagpipes in it. - The trailing melody starting on the left guitar at 5:22 is a small nod to the Witcher menu theme (see 0:55 and 1:35). Unrelated note: bagpipes in there too! - Apart from the source, I listened to the on the Alternative Elements album quite a lot. It's a bit of a stretch, but I think the strings starting at 0:35 in that song have somehow resulted in what's happening near 1:59 in my remix. - I was trying to go for a "journey" feel, so there are few parts repeated, the whole track is more like a linear progression instead of something with verses / choruses. Exceptions are 0:46 - 1:40 and 1:40 - 2:35, which are constructed identically (and alternate between 3/4 and 4/4). Many thanks in advance for your feedback!