Ronyn

This remix is great it's hard to say much that's bad about the samples and everything (except for the awkward string accompaniment at the beginning). I guess my beef with it, and my beef with hundreds of mixes of its kind, is when remixers create works so tonally ambiguous and so content void that you could virtually stick any melody inside it and immediately that melody is enhanced with a kick ass accompaniment. This is a great piece, but I would hardly qualify it as a "remix" considering that except for a short guitar accompaniment, all the supportive content is completely unrelated to the hymn of the faith in my opinion. I know I'll be greatly disagreed with by many and that's ok. But, cut out the hymn of the faith sample, and throw in whatever you want...Mario's dungeon theme, final fight's continue melody, even something from tetris maybe, and some would say, "Wow! This is the greatest remix of this game ever!" which I think is just kinda sad. I wanna hear full themes, motifs, developmental material, modulations, just anything that says...here's what I got when I took the hymn of the faith theme and did "this" to it. I think this piece straddles that border a bit on the far side.

A very chilling work from Russell. Beautiful arranging and instruments once again. I do have a few criticisms for you though, just a few taste related impressions nothing serious: Beginning - I like this horn sample everywhere in the piece BUT here. Its attacks aren't very even, at least not even enough for a solo. The first two notes are smooth, while the next two are blared, then back to smooth. Around 0:30 I'm hearing some noise, I think it's coming from the bass sample. Not too distracting, maybe it's just my ear, but I would have check the levels or EQ'd that out. It seems to return around 1:41 when it hits the low range again. Wow, great job on the stereo harp =D. So beautiful. From 1:22 to 1:44 when the chorus comes in, I really like the spooky, wailing feel of the chorus =). I do feel that the effect though is crowding out some of the other things going on. Maybe some hard panning or killing a few overtones would have helped. The transition at 1:45 is perfect, but perhaps jumps the gun a little. At 1:54 you've taken a risk and combined an oboe solo with an organ solo. Normally you know as well as I do about the balance problem that would create, but I'd be a hypocrite to say it's a bad idea cuz duh I do stuff like that too but I did feel the organ was way too loud, it sounded like the oboe was being overpowered. At 2:02 in the very background of the music I'm hearing some "ghost" tones. I'm not sure who's playing them but they are very dissonant. I'm thinking possibly piano? or organ overtones? Anyway, if they're supposed to be there I'm thinking maybe turn up the volume a notch. Right now they're so quiet it sounds like a mistake trying to be covered up. At 2:25/6 Right after the organ attack....I really don't know what I'm hearing. At first it sounded like a very quiet recording blip, but the more I listen the less I hear it. Hmm, maybe nothing....Anyway at this section I love the chorus/organ blend, very atmospheric and castlevania-esque. However the effect is so thick, I don't think the notes played by the organ really come through. Oh I love everything up to 3:23 sounds great! That snare doesn't sound at tight as it should be though, kinda...noisy. The ending is beautiful and chilling. So yeah by now I'm sure you're expecting to hear me say, "This piece is great but it sucks!" Nah, I'm nitpicking cuz well...it's so damn hard to find serious fault in Russell's work. Great work!

Yay! Glad to see orchestral getting more and more popular. I love the quality of this work, but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by some things. For one, the verb is a bit heavy, it makes the strings and winds sound great but it makes the brass sound mushy, and really robs its articulation. Also, compositionally, when I'm hearing original material, all I hear is a bit of showing off of the samples, nothing great. But most of this song sounds like a direct rip of the game, which isn't the worst thing in the world but if I wanted to hear FF7 done orchestral exactly like the game music I've got plenty of recordings. And lastly, something is funky from about 2:20 to 2:30. I don't know what it is but it sounds like skipping in the end. It could just be a cool instrumental effect in there, if so I think it's out of place. Overall though, I liked this one.

Wow, I remember this as one of my favorite games; this brought back so many good memories. First off, these brass sounds kick ass! My goodness if I could only get my hands on such a lush sound I would eat my own underwear! Russel's style of writing is very evocative, I love it. The brass balance is superb. The lower strings at around 23 seconds seem a bit out of sync. It gets covered up with the clarinets come back in but still...I felt it disrupted the flow a bit. At 40 seconds with the upper strings it becomes most obvious. I can't tell if maybe I have a bad recording or not, but I'm hearing a blip at 39 seconds. It's possible that quick note change is doing it, that could be cleaned up. (Assuming it's not just me) 46-58 seconds, what a beautiful transition! The brass countermelody gives me chills. 1:08-1:20 That horn is the BEST orchestral sample I've ever heard. I gotsta get one of those. The piece is pretty straightforward till 2:30; some nice changes of color and rhythmic variety add to the fun, adventurous march feel. I felt the snare line was a bit stagnant, and could have used a bit more ad lib rolls or maybe some light perc. accompaniment. Nice ending A creative take on an almost all too cliched build. I wish I could say the same for myself (cough icarus cough). Well dammit Russell how's it possible that I can worship you and hate you at the same time, lol. All kidding aside, you're going to be a great composer writing very important works some day. Good luck.

Thanks everyone for the comments, very much appreciated. A couple points have been made that I might as well shed some light on, but since I'm too lazy to address them specifically I'll just copy and paste from the WIP thread. Dually noted. My friend didn't like it either, but I did it for symbolism. If you know the story, you know that Rachel gives her life for Locke's happiness, thus...her gift was in effect, Celes, hence her theme. Actually it's just the original harp and music box with a heavy wah wah flange and a few other effects on them. Why would I do that? Well the piece is not technically orchestral like that, it's just the style. It's still a remix intrinsically, so I thought a "dreamy" entrance would be appropriate. Quite relevant with the story of rachel. (around 1:20)The choir you hear is actually the original "mezzo de aria" soundfont from the game itself. I thought a little forshadowing sounded good there. So there's the method to the madness on some of the more questionable parts of this mix. As far as the other stuff goes i.e. the low harp, I totally agree . Dhsu pretty much hit the nail on the head considering my personal concerns. But yeah overall it did turn out ok I guess, thanks everyone who helped, and thanks for the welcome. I'm tempted to go back and fix the stuff I agree should be fixed, but at this point I think I'll call it par for the course and move on. Thanks everyone!

This song deserves two post from me. Why? CUZ IT'S STILL STUCK IN MY HEAD GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!!

This put a smile on my face though I do not condone violence against robots.

Lotta good stuff going on in this piece, so much so I hope you'll forgive me if I don't go into details; most of it I'd just be repeating from other comments. Couple things that bothered me though... The percussion in the intro seems out of sync, maybe you meant it to sound less tight but since only one instrument does it, it sounds weird to me. The sound quality is great. It's too bad you can't get some live brass They really want to shine, those lackluster fonts don't do it justice. And I agree with djp's assessment of the chorus. As an orchestral fan, I know you've made the right choice with the chorus there, but in spite of good intentions it is really failing to compliment the piece. It's too sterile and the attacks are all late. Anyway, an enjoyable mix indeed Jared. Great work.

"This is the greatest thing you eve...r..eh..blick...ah...derg.... I'm buying you a pizza!" - Strong Bad

It's a shame people here aren't into 20th century dissonance, because beatdrop....this track is utter genius! Your dissonance from 1:20-40 resolves smoothly and eerily. I can understand that people don't like them but shaaaaame on them for calling them wrong notes. I'm not a big techno buff; I did find some of the panning and phasing a bit cliche, so I just listened to the melodic/harmonic motion instead. If your other works sound more tonal than this than screw what everyone says, this is one of the best mixes I've heard in so long. I applaud your courage; you'd blow even Stravinsky's mind. A+++, vastly underrated mix.

This is a very well done mix, good voicing and full of motion, but to be perfectly honest, it wasn't very inspiring. For one, as a violinist, I absolutely hate violin fonts. The use of this font was cleverly executed, allowing the notes to taper off before it achieved a whiney vibrato, but it still suffers from the other weakness of violin fonts: harsh attacks (the attack at 3:31/32 for example is outta control), and ambiguous tuning. Still, big kudos to anyone with the skill to push a violin font up to this level of quality. Also, when the guitar comes in I just want to sit back and groove. Unfortunately it's a bit quiet, possibly because of the sometimes uneven and late strumming. Seriously though, I'm nitpicking, these are little things, but it was enough to keep me from jumping out of my chair and lauding this piece.

Actually I'm studying for my history final as we speak. When you said the war was over I wasn't quite sure you were right but I checked my little booky-poo and lo and behold you're right. Yes, Schindler's list was a beautiful movie, I've played the violin solo for ASTA festivals. Yes, Wolfenstein was a fun game. I'm not sure how to respond to your post though, it doesn't seem that you understand what we're even talking about. (I gotta stop reading this damn thread, I can't seem to resist stopping people from flaming me for no reason; no more! Flame away!).

??? Strange, I don't see Cuddly's post, oh well. I don't see how discussing the title is any different than discussing how much we all liked the game or how much history we all know, but I guess discussing a "pro-nazi" title is irrelevant. I am right on this, sorry to say, however hard it is to swallow or however little you care. Dictionary.com also defines a symphony as "An extended piece in three or more movements for symphony orchestra." but anyone educated in form knows that that is hardly adequate information to write a symphony. Such is the case with the form requiem. I really don't care that you guys find my protest irrelevant. If you introduced this piece as a Nazi Requiem to the public, they would instantly villify its composer, because in that context it sounds sympathetic to Hitler's regime. That is relevant, and I'm sorry I have to come out with it bluntly, but dropping subtle hints seems to have only angered people who can't wait to flame someone. If there's any sensitivity in your bones, please change the name of this song, pride is an aweful vice. I will post no more on the matter...

That's circular reasoning, you can't define it as a requiem just because it fits your definition. "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" is technically a showtune. Please point me to your references that say it is a requiem; I would owe you an apology if this was true.

That definition is a bit truncated to be entirely accurate. But it still begs the question: Why would you write a song "for" Nazis? The more diplomatic way to phrase that would be: A requiem is mostly a song written "about" the dead. But that still begs the same question: Why would you write a song for or about dead Nazis? Mazedude's music answers this question well and in a positive way. So please, I hope no one interprets my comment as opposition, but calling it a requiem is a contradiction. I've never heard a requiem that was written to villify, in fact the very opposite of that is what every requiem I've ever heard is; I've yet to hear a neutral, informative, non-biased requiem. I won't argue the case any more; I think I've made my point. I'm just concerned that others won't hear what they should hear in this piece simply because of its title, which is needless to say silly (the listeners not the title).

I agree with all of the praise given, but I just want to make one point. A "requiem" is by definition a holy mass, or a tribute form...meant for mourning as much as remembering. I don't think the music sends a bad message, but that title might...

Nice work Russel =D I would kill to know what soundfonts/synth you're using. Email me maestrodeclure@aol.com I must know, he he. This really is one hell of a mix; I'm really going to have a hard time keeping up with this kind of quality. I haven't heard the original music, so it's hard to accurately judge what you've done here. However, a few thoughts I had while listening: 1. The beginning is very interesting. The tonal center is left very vague. Half of your tonicized opening lies in the singular bass line, which you don't expect that kind of motion. The bass lines could be interpreted as either tonic or dominant of Bb, so it's kinda weak. Also, the motion you created is completely lost when the orchestra comes in. It sounds like there's more than one introduction and they have nothing to do with each other. The ending bass line sounds like it wants to be in Ab so it can modulate back to Eb for the intro, but again the tonal center is weak. My feeling is that this could be stronger, it's hard to make sense of it. Then again, if I listen to it all like it's Debussy, suddenly I don't feel so objective and it is very flowing and logical. So, I'll leave the interpretation to you. 2. 0:46-1:00 - Beautiful color! Great idea with the trills. 3. 1:00-1:15 - Sounds like the attacks on the melodic line are late. I can't tell if it's the strings or the brass, but they're definitely out of sync. 4. 1:38 - I'm not sure how I feel about the shift to parallel minor here. It's nice but it kinda feels like you've smooshed a jigsaw puzzle piece together here. It's great how it is, but I wouldn't complain if you did more with it either. If the orchestra hadn't cut out this would have sounded very confusing. 5. 2:09 - Go Contrabassoon!! 6. 2:16-end - Beautiful stuff. Anything that strikes me is pretty much more of the same. The rhythm transitions are very abrupt. I don't feel a real blend going on between them. But like everyone else, I am probably guilty of critiquing what I wanted to hear, and not what was written. When all is said and done, this was masterfully done. Good job. Much enjoyed, James

I played this rom of Seiken Densetsu 3 (Unreleased sequel to Secret of Mana). Whoever programmed that rom must have thought they were real funny. Near the end, I couldn't beat this Black Knight boss to save my life. And whenever I cheated and beat him the game froze. Only boss I never beat...