Kamikaze Noodle

Heh heh, this IS pretty sweet stuff. I never checked it out before, cuz I'm a bastard like that, but I must say this is good stuff. I think it's the concept of combining all these songs and changing them and such and the way they were pulled off that makes this song so awesome. The main problem I have is 1:53-2:13 where the piano and guitar are sort of dilly-dallying around. They both pull off these very soloistic runs and things at the same time and it sounds very dissonant. Other than that, this is a great mix that really is a part of OCR's history.

I thought I'd heard the Zeal theme so many times inside-out and upside-down that I could never be *touched* by it. But then this happened. This piece is just awesome. The ONLY thing I really find faulted with is the drums. They just don't sound...as good as they could 1:05-1:45 but that is really it. I think the distorted piano conveys more struggle, more, difficulty, if you know what I mean. Instead of just "Hey it's the Zeal theme!" It's more like "This hurts my soul to sing..." You've done a damn good remix of Zeal, Unipulator. :nicework:

Ooooh man it is about TIME! I have been waiting for this mix for too long! Two great artists making a trance collab? Now all I need is to bed hot triplets and my life is perfect. Anyway, to the song. The lack of actual melody is well made up for in absolute awesomeness stemming from these two remixers experience and differing skills. It's funny how you can obviously tell what part of the mix is SGX and what part is FFDJ. The industrialness of the middle section doesn't get me at all, and I absolutely love this whole mix. I didn't think I could ejaculate in the span of 5 minutes and 50 seconds, but during the course of this song I pulled a rare tri-spooger. Nice work.

Whoa. What an awesome breath of fresh air. I listen to a respectable amount of jazz and am trained as a jazz drummer first and foremost and I have to say I really love what you guys do. I can't even get my band to do a version of the Mario 2 song and here you guys are with two jazzy OC Remixes. Man, this is just some sweet ear-candy... I Love you guys.

Whoa, how did this one slip under my radar? I really like this. The drum work is good, which is hard to pull off on a soft electronic song, and the changes work pretty well. I love every section of this song and can almost feel the emotion coming out of it. Which is the true point of musical expression, no?

Hey, I never reviewed this song? Crazy. Well I absolutely love it. I think it really flows with a sense of urgency and energy that's hard to come by in a lot of electronic music. Jared, since you perfectly pulled off what you were going for, and this piece is flawless as far as mixing, Imma give you a DOUBLE NICEWORK!! :nicework: Just masterful work man, love it.

Well, I'm finally BACK! My computer has been fixed and the first thing I did was come here and check out this song. After playing with so many guitarists I've come to this conclusion: they love to hear themeselves play. Now I do enjoy guitar solos in many different styles of music, especially slide, but this here is not my cup of tea. The chord progression gets stale after so long, and the whole song is very static without much variation. The soloing sounds very lost 2:40 - 3:02 and the transition to the wah could've been better. Those are the things that keep this from bein just awesome. I swear, with a little more variation and a shorter length, this could've been somethin' real sweet. The ideas are here and everything, I just don't think it was pulled off as well as it could've. I absolutely LOVE the wah solo, it's just sheer awesomeness, but I don't like sitting through what seems like hours of meandering distorted guitar. =( Oh well,

Nice Friggin' Work! This is high-quality stuff that pulls off exactly what it tries to be. It did remind me of aerial flight in a lot of ways, with the swooping optimistic melody. That drum programming is insane magic fun deliciousness, as should be expected from Ziwtra, who has yet to let me down in that area, and the small things like guitar hits really help make this mix very listenable from start to finish. Ziwtra, this reminded me in some ways of your Terranigma Blue remix, with the flowing melody and interesting drums. I liked that song too. In fact, I've liked every song you've put out, why aren't you up there with AmIEvil and DJP as one of the best on the site?

Heh, even though there's nothing terribly different about this mix or anything, I still really like it. I can't explain it. Maybe it's the overall polish. Maybe it's the clever synth work. Whatever it is, it makes this mix a part of my playlist. And for the record, I like the NES-sounding synth.

Something irks me about the mastering or something. While arrangement is awesome, and Lord knows I used to sing Balrog's theme back when I was a wee young 'un, it sounds like clipping or unintentional distortion in parts. Is this just my speakers? I wouldn't think so, but noone else seems to notice this and it's kinda ruining the song for me. It makes the song very jerky and unpleasant. Oh wait, I took one look at my equalizer and I found what's wrong. This song is EQed like a smile, so I had the extremes boosted too high on my EQ setting. If anyone else notices dostortion or clipping, just readjust your EQ. Um, this sounds a lot better now. Yeah. Wow. I feel like an idiot. Great stuff Neostorm! I'm glad to see Balrog's theme given some love, and especially in the form of such groovin piece.

Some of the synths I felt could've been made better but overall this was a very satisfactory track. I'm not exactly balls-out about it like DJP but I have to admit that vocoded synth is DAMN SWEET. I really really wish though that some of those cheesy synths were, I don't know, less glaring. A very important thing I felt from this song though was a sense of actual emotion. Oh, and that vocoded synth was DAMN SWEET. I really love that Matrixy effect at 2:00, and the pseudo classical feel is perfect for the style bazooie was goin for. A well done track to be sure, and that vocoded synth was DAMN SWEET. The last minute felt tacked on though. Didn't really need to be there. And that vocoded synth is... aww hell you know more songs need vocoder love.

It sounds pretty good, but for some reason something seems to be missing. I mean nothing seems glaringly wrong, but yet the piece feels incomplete or lacking. SGX is right about that strange dog-whistle thing throughout the song, which reminds me of "And Your Bird Can Sing" by the Beatles. The synths sounded fine to me, and the arrangement was solid. The triplet sections were a nice touch, and the guita-centric breakdowns were well executed as well. The drums gave a nice driving feel to the song, and the bass pulls some awesome moves now and then. So although all's well nothing really comes out and kicks me in the pants or makes the song memorable. Something like that, I think. A good listen, didn't knock my socks off but I thought it wasn't bad at all.

Boy, um, right now I feel sorta awkward. I mean, I love this mix a ton, and I'm not normally the kind who falls for intentionally expressive songs such as this but right now I feel a huge urge to praise this song. At the same time, I also feel like any words I spout will just be totally unnecessary. So um yeah, this song is great. 2:26 = SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGE!!!!

I actually thought this song sorta carved out it s own little feeling. Sort of subdued energy. Some parts were admittedly rough (2:20-2:58), but the overall feeling I enjoyed. With maybe more polish this could've been even better, but I don't think I'd worry too much about it. What's here is solid and you'll either like it or not. The fills are a nice touch, the piano is excellent (the part at 1:22 made me wanna spooge myself), and the pads are well used. The lack of bass drum is, I think, helpful to the feeling of the mix. (this isn't a hardcore dance track) So I don't understand why everyone is brutalizing this song. Oh well, opinions will differ.

Heh, nice call on that one, but they aren't exactly the same. On Norwegian Wood when it returns to the tonic chord it goes down, and in this one it goes up. But um, yeah they are very similar. I really liked this piece, it has a great vibe to it, that just puts you in a happy place. I especially like the percussion work, as it's more complex than most people would settle for. Also the added notes in sections never feel unnecassary to me. I thought everything was pulled off very well. From the call and response soloing to the breakdown in the middle. Minor gripes with the ending though. It just...stops. Shoulda gone with a more "folky" ending. With the guitar sort of picking the last chord slowly. Other than that, all good things from this piece.

I really like arrangements like this. I am a huge fan of this mix, and I think it is much the same. Everything is very well balanced, and well processed. The mix takes small things and makes a great song out of them, with sort of an understated groove pushing it along. This mix takes some chances, and I think that's good. Predictablility is bad. And it's nice to hear something that isn't just four on the floor I-IV-V, and that soloing is about as far as you can acceptably go from it. What makes songs like this work is the subtleties, and this mix has them in spades. From the cray little synth in the back to the driving push of the bassline, there isn't anything I hear in this mix that screams "UNPOLISHED!!!" which is what you want when attempting a mix like this. for trying something different.

When I listened to the WiP of this way back God knows when, I knew that there were some rough parts to it, but that with a little love it could really be a great mix. I kept the original cuz I liked it a lot, but it seems Lorenzo has ignored some of my advice. There is no "transition" per se, there is simply the ending of the first section and the start of the second. I thought the arpeggios were really crappy too, but the part leading to the end with the synths sounds a lot better. I don't think sample quality is an issue, as the mix doesn't really try to be realistic. With the 8-bit drums you can tell this is a very synthy piece. If the transitions were better (if there WAS a transition) and the middle section were cleaned up it woulda been better. But it's ultimately the artist who decides how his piece is gonna end up.

What's the point of a song that goes nowhere? That's my question. As great as this song is to listen to, it really feels like it just...is. It doesn't progress, it doesn't change. Even the most basic early 50's rock songs had a sense of differenciation and change. Without those, the listening becomes almost a chore. It's great as background music, but not as a stand alone song. I think a few tweaks in composition could've given this a better edge. Right now, it's too loose a listen for me to really enjoy it.

Oh my sweet baby Jesus. This new version you have here is ten times better than your original. It has so much more punch and dynamicism. I mean it really changed the piece to me. I'll actually be saving this. Thanks for your remastered version.

DEFINITELY some mastering issues, but at some points the guitar soloing gets very good. As DJP said though, some like it, some don't. DJP also referenced Supergrass, an awesome band that doesn't get enough airplay, but anyway, I am of the variety that doesn't like it. I am a drummer, so bad drums really really stick out to me. And these drums are...welll...bad. The guitar sounds too faded out, and the bass is non-existant. The whole song doesn't really progress much. The whole thing is just a big long guitar solo, with some non-too-good keyboards stuck in at parts. Sorry, but I don't feel any emotion coming out of this mix. Reminds me more of Dynasty Warriors music actually.

This is an a very well crafted piece of music. The begining is no doubt the best part. With the surreal FX and choral work. It's like floating through some kind of etherreal world or something. It's awesome. Then at 2:30 things get weird... That snare is just *bleh* and the melody is very weak. It sounds like screwing around on a violin. But at 3:50 it picks itself back up after that rather unfavorable section and works magic. Transporting me back to the cool etherreal world I was in before. And when it ends, I wanna go back. Which ends up putting me in a disposition of playing the song over and over. A very well made track overall, with a definite low in the middle.

Quality beat, quality instruments, quality humanization, quality breakdown, this track is very well done. The only negative things I find are minor gripes. I think the violin is too loud in comparison to the rest of the mix and I think the ending leaves a little to be desired. Otherwise, great use of uncommon trance instruments, and great little touches all around. (like the snare work near the end) I especially liked the breakdown. All too often in trance songs, the breakdown just has the beat dropping out, and it ends up simply slowing down the song's momentum, but here, it really is a nice changeup.

I also found this to be somewhat mediocre. It doesn't feel like too much emotion coming out of it, reminds me more of musak in that respect. And the drums really annoy me. I felt they didn't accent the somewhat sorrowfulness of this mix with such busy drumming. Riding with 8th notes (If you count this as 6/8) unevenly and using 16th note hits on the kick twice like that, doesn't really work too well in my opinion. It would've gone better with just riding quarter notes and perhaps a kick on the 1, 3, and 6, and snare on 4. Those fills also seemed very "blah" and the tom run at 1:27 makes me sad. When it comes to drumming, sometimes less is more. The guitar I have to admit though, sounds very articulate and reminded me of Mitsuda's Cross work. The bass does a nice job of leading the song through chord changes, and the piano sounds great. Basically, even though everything but the guitar sound somewhat mechanical, I would feel a lot more emotion from the song if the drums just let it breathe more.

The transitions are way abrupt, but overrall this is a quality track. Something about those vibes makes me happy. The thing I found interesting is how low the kick is. It's almost at that point where you can't hear it so much as feel it. Nice use of saw waves too.

While not bad by any means, this song doesn't exactly kick me in the pants. It pulls off what it wants to achieve, and for that I give it credit. Sample quality is a bit "meh" but you can't really fault someone for that. The beginning is fine, no qualms. But at 0:54 the song takes a big fall for me. Without any harmony it seems more like notes just...playing. Not too interesting a listen as the notes also seem to play disjointedly. And while the lead at the first fast section is awesome, I think some more harmony would have helped the fast section seem more "energized". 1:42 - 2:08 is just the bassline, by itself. Prett bland in my opinion. After the strings come in though, the song becomes more interesting and much tighter in terms of direction. The final fast parts are my favorite part of the song, thanks to the use of tons of background sounds. It makes for a great climax And the ending is sweet, with the wind blowin and stuff. I think with more work and better samples this could've been awesome, but with such sparseness and a strangely "flat" sound over the whole song (almost like it needs more "body") I'm just not diggin' it...