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Fieari

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Everything posted by Fieari

  1. This song is amazingly beautiful. It's haunting, creepy, emotive, and very effective. The dissonance works as well as the harmony. I can picture something like Boondock Saints set to this, easily. Chilling and sad. I've listened to this piece a dozen times so far, and it gets better every time, and I liked it to start with. Just listen to the difference tones made by the different voices. Hear how rhythms are created with only the voice. The high pitched piano tones merely emphasize the etherealness of it all. The different voices, though all made by the same man, each have a distinct and specific personality to them, and this comes out in the song. Different flavors and varieties of mourning, from wailing agony to simple low-key despair. It groans with feeling. This is awesome.
  2. <sarcasm>OMG!DIS ROCX0RZ 2MCH 2BEEN MAED bY A GRL!!!111eleven!!oneone!!!!</sarcasm> Well, aside from the bit of thirteen-thirty seven, at least the first part of that sentence is true. This really does rock hardcore. REALLY rocks. The guitar work is brilliant. All the transitions were PERFECT. The genre mixup in the middle was particularly fine. The drums, an instrument I'm admittably not a fan of due to the "wall of sound" effect they usually provide, drowning out the actual song (which I usually feel should be able to be rythmic on the merits of the main instruments alone)... they worked to heighten the overall effect. The riffs were beautiful. There's no other way to put it. Just... just gorgeous. Hammering some of those sections out worked incredibly well. The use of pauses worked perfectly for dramatic effect. The more "tender moments" of solos were framed by rage in a perfect manner. The bass combined with the treble in a way very pleasing to the ears. There are parts of this song that make me just want to get up and dance. The FF7 battle theme feels EPIC when you put it in. Rocking out from start to finish. What more could I ask for? That long prolonged note right before blasting into the victory theme? Niiiiiice. And then the victory theme itself? Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. I don't like medleys normally... but this isn't a medley (other than in the technical sense). It's a coherant song with twists, turns, surprises, reprises, and five thousand pounds of awesome.
  3. After reading the write up, I was expecting something a LOT more close to the original tracks; expecting something nearly note for note, for instance. This definitely isn't that. There's a lot of playing around with pauses, rhythms... there's some replaced notes here and there, and of course the harmony is a lot more indepth than the original, with quite a bit of ornementation. A couple of the transitions were a little jarring to me, but mostly everything flowed. Pretty cool. I definitely enjoyed this... a little past the five minute mark, the musical rendition of the death sound was particularly interesting. I wouldn't have thought you could make that sound effect sound so good. Not generally a rock listener here, so I can't really compare it to the genre, but over all, I give this a thumbs up. Not two thumbs up... it does start sounding a little homogenous after a while, and of course, I'm not really a medly fan either, but a solid thumbs up anyway.
  4. I've definitely been a Pixietricks fan ever since "Prayer". A fantastic voice that just fits with the music so well... It does have an etherial feeling to it. I can definitely see the "backstory" to this song clearly in my head. The idea of it being a call and responce is very wistful. Really, the vocals make this piece. Loving it, loving it!
  5. This is one of the better renditions of Gerudo Valley I've heard, right up there with djpretz's version. There's just something about guitars that fit with this theme, although the full string section version I have (not sure who it's by) also works wonderfully. But enough of that. About this peice. It does have a bit of a carefree feeling, and I think the xylophone-sounding thingy at the beginning convey a hint of a creepy childishness that is emphasized a bit by the synnthstrings that follow. I like the staccattoness of this section, it's an interesting take on the intro to the melody. The instrument choices are very interesting throughout the work. The calmer sections are some of my favorite bits. The high-strung acoustic gives a very nice western feel, and the percussion instrument that sounds like someone scraping a plastic comb fits right into the picture in a surprisingly good way, making the main motif sound like it's a continuation of that percussion, except somehow with tone and life. I like this a lot. It can be hard covering a track that has been done so often, but when you have a breath of fresh air to add to the mix as you clearly do here, it's definitely worth it. Good job. Good job.
  6. Dude. This rocks. I love overly dramatic peices like this. It does begin very much like a sunrise. And I can catch the similarity to Requium in the background at least. I don't think there are any dynamic issues... it starts soft and then builds, exactly like it was meant to do. And while later on the volume might technically be stagnant, it doesn't sound stagnant, since all the build up emphasizes things in your mind later on without needing to, proverbially, "Go to 11". And as djpretz mentions, then everything backs down again. So yeah, there's definitely dynamics going on around here. And wooeee... good stuff!
  7. This is perfect, exactly what the original wanted to be. What more can be said about it than that? I mean, it has the SEEEEGAAAAAA at the beginning for crying out loud! Beautiful man, just beautiful.
  8. I may or may not have reviewed this piece before, but I need to come back and do it again. I have been listening to this a LOT recently. The segment at 4:24... brilliance. Mixing the two patterns together like that, each instrument REALLY repeating without changing anything, and yet on each repeat there's a different emphasis due to the way they layer and combine... Brilliant. I wish I heard that kind of pattern used more often. It's so neat!
  9. Totally sweet. I'm really digging this. The abrupt jarring transitions really work well. This is a song that has some real POWER behind those chords. Too many guitar mixes that try to rock just don't rock hard enough. This rocks hard. Parts of it are definitely Air Guitar worthy. Woo! The softer piano section was cool, and the perfect break in the middle of all that rocking hard. I too would love a mix just of that, but whatver. It works here. I must say that you've given me the most frightening rendition of "Where Angels Fear to Tread" I've ever heard. And I mean that in a good way! It's simultaneously soft, gentle, and REALLY CREEPY! Good work there, kudos. I'm not sure it was the best place to end the mix though. I always like music that comes full circle, starting and ending on the same note or theme or key or whatever. To do otherwise makes it hang there in the air, uncomfortably. But then, that too is a mood to convey, a feeling that is worthwhile to put into music, and I think that here it was deliberate. Ballsy of you, but it was pulled off. That last note is definitely going to echo in my ears for a while... Neat mix. Very neat. I like.
  10. Groovy. Funky. Awesome. I couldn't help but groove in my chair as I'm listening to this. So catchy! Infective rhythm. Grinding synths that just add to the whole texture of the thing. Totally sweet. All the motifs work together so well! This is a composition of wonder. I'm digging this so hard... love it love it love it!
  11. This might actually qualify as more sleepy than the original source, but that's okay, I think. I think it fits the ending Crysta theme better than the opening Crysta, even if in game the two tracks are the same. Emotionally, the ending Crysta theme feels a bit different, which I think this piece captures quite well. I love your interpretation on the little guitar parts, specifically at 2:20ish. The OSV implied what you delivered. Love how you handled the brief bit of up tempo, and how it goes into the higher pitched section (which I didn't really like in the source material, but enjoy quite a bit here). You did the material proud, I must say. This is fantastically good stuff. The ending is particularly good, I think. Well done. Well done.
  12. Yes! I'm so glad to see this made it onto the site. I was one of the people suggesting little tweaks here and there while this was still a work in progress. The last WIP version of this I have still had a tiny little... coherance problem at the very end, in which I told you that I thought the peice needed to return to the beginning a bit more in order to suggest completion, and while you didn't do that exactly as I suggested, by layering it behind the final verse, you achieved that completion perfectly without unduely extending the mix. Awesome! As I've said numerous times in your WIP thread, your voice is beautiful, the lyrics sublime. The alternating sections between lovely and creepy are fantastic. The beginning in particular works wonderfully well, with the non-lyrical vocals. I particularly love the way that your voice placed over top the creepy little motif latter on in the piece gives it a little... playful feeling. Making light of something that was intended for darkness. It's a wonderful little feeling for me. I love it. Wonderful stuff. I'm thrilled to have seen this make it. Well done indeed!
  13. Ooh, now THIS is a good flashman. I've heard a lot of megaman mixes, as I'm sure many of you have, and to be honest, I don't like a lot of the flashman mixes I've heard. This is an exception. It's good stuff. I approve. The horrifying distortion guitar somehow works as well, which is certainly interesting because there's not many places such an instrument CAN work. I mean, usually you get that sound when you want to creep people out, but not here. Here, it's just good. Bubbleman also gets some love. We've already got two worthwhile bubbleman mixes on the site, each good for different reasons, and now a third can be added to that list, with its own little charm. Fascinating. Good stuff, I like I like I like.
  14. Oddity, could you mark more clearly where you're being sarcastic and where not? Text doesn't come complete with vocal intonations. Anyway, the mix. The mix is good. You took a minimal riff and turned it into something big, powerful, long, and LISTENABLE. For that, you get kudos for certain. I'm not sure my own imagination could come up with something this good in my head from that limited source. Good work!
  15. Glad to see this make it! Definitely a huge improvement over your first WIP of this so long ago. Beautiful stuff. My favorite bit has got to be the soaring section at around 3:13 or so. That's POWERFUL there. Good job. Only crit, listening to it now, is that the sustained flute notes at the beginning seem to cut off a little choppy to me. Later on, with more wind instruments, the "chop" is masked very well, but at the beginning, no so good. Could have prolonged the note right into the next phrase, I think. It's a minor concern. I'm definitely enjoying the quite a bit.
  16. Wow. This is quite a ride... the rhythm jumps all over the place like a bucking bronto trying to shake me off its back, and yet I like it. Slow but lilting, with sharp staccatto accents that emphasize the gaps. Uncomfortable, but addicting. When there are runs (not many) near the end, they stagger like a drunk falling down the stairs on top of the lilting background. I think listening to this is kinda like eatting spicy salsa. It hurts SO BAD but I just can't stop putting it into my mouth. Thanks! I enjoy! Probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, this is good. Well done.
  17. Wow... the repeating patterns here work so well! And that singing voice! Wow! That totally kicked my ass when I heard it come in. This rocks. You rock. Honestly, what else can I say? It is a little short, and I wish it were longer, but that which is here rocks so hard it doesn't matter. I'm in awe. Totally sweet.
  18. It may not resonate with LAOS, but it certainly resonates with me. Not having read djpretz's write up before listening to it, I had no expectations at all, esspecially after not really enjoying the previous mix released (death metal isn't my thing). And so right from the get go I was startled, shocked by the sound quality and I liked what I heard. My expectations were low, but those expectations were exceeded above and beyond what I've been listening a lot to recently. This is great piano playing. The beginning has a faint "lounge" feel to it more than an orchestral feel, what with the bass (or cello?) backdrop. It doesn't last long though... when more instruments come in, well, I wouldn't call it ORCHESTRAL but it certainly is pretty. Just what I'm looking for in a good mix. The instrumentation really rings in my ears. If I listen carefully, yes, I can tell that these are soundfonts and not live instruments (well, the piano sounds darn convincing, but the rest is slightly recognizable as being generated and not played) but there's no real need to go in that much depth of detail listening to this, I think. I can sit back and ENJOY. And enjoy I am doing! This is a FINE rendition. Everything just FITS together so well! I'm definitely glad that the collaberation was done, because I'd hate to have to listen to this with a fantastic piano and lackluster backup. Very good stuff. The call and responce sections worked well for me. The entire thing is VERY well emoted. I'm having difficulty picking out any specific section to talk about, because it's all so good. Well done. I enjoyed this VERY much, and I look forewards to hearing more out of you.
  19. Having a hard time liking this. Not enough melody for my tastes. The lyrics don't seem... uh... sung. At all. I guess that's the style... but I don't like it.
  20. The arrangement starts out fairly bland, and almost identical to the original. At first, I was confused why this had even been accepted. But then the improvements and variations and additions started comming in, each better than the last. Very good arranging, I think. Wonderful, in fact. However! I'm really feeling uninspired by the samples. Obviously, samples aren't the onlything that a peice has to offer, but they really do help, a lot. The biggest problem, unfortunately, is the strings... the lead instrument in most places. The horns aren't very good either. In general, the lead instrument should be the thing most focused on in terms of sound quality. The flute-like instrument around the five minute mark is pretty good, for instance. It doesn't sound real, but it adds a lot to the music as a whole. The "quiet bits" are really the worst when it comes to sound quality, because you have to strain to hear it and as such, the imperfections are all the more noticed. Like when your professor lowers his voice to deliver an important point in class, you pay attention more. Additionally, the quiet bits had less movement, and more sustained notes... and sustained notes on a poor quality instrument just keeps getting worse. I didn't like that at all. Where you have more movement and more arrangement, the mix is tolerable, even good. But the whole thing could have shined like polished silver if you had used better samples! Decent work. Hope you find better samples in the future.
  21. Oh wow, I haven't commented on this yet? I've been listening to it nearly nonstop for the past couple days. Play videogames? Turn down the ingame music and listen to this. Doing homework? Listen to this. Eatting? This. Etc. The beginning, with the higher register notes present images of raindrops on clear surface of water. That surface of water is represented by the strings, subtly pulling tension in the background. The lower piano notes provide substance to this image and world... the still lake yet runs deep. And then we have this tribal sounding area, bringing to mind a quest... a seeker... the lonely wanderer represented by the flute, the urgancy of the quest by the drums, the... mandolin? plucks describe to me the tall pines all around. In a moment, the piano returns, but now it represents the lonelyness of the wilderness. While forign, the string plucks sounded more familiar than the piano in this section, leading me to believe that those string plucks are the forest familiar, near home, and the piano is the wilderness, far away from all that is known. The quest intensifies. The flute SOARS! Something important is happening here, it's hard to tell exactly what, but it is of the utmost importance. Perhaps we are flying... but not in a machine, not in an airplane... on the back of a bird, or perhaps we've spread our own wings and we ourselves are pumping the wind to leap to the very sky above. Something happens. But now the narrator refuses to tell us what just went on... we have an epilogue. Elsewhere, and perhaps days, years later, someone is telling the story to children around a campfire. The camera in my mind pulls up as we end things off, viewing the sparks of the campfire rising in the wind, floating up to the sky as we rise our view above the level of the familiar tall pines and witness the sunset. There's still a sense of urgency, our wandering hero is still doing something important, the importance has not fled. Perhaps a new hero must arise to follow the path the other one set. Something must still be done... but that is clearly a tale for another day. This one is done. Hence the need to put this on repeat. The story itself seems to loop, over and over again. Never any clear resolution. Something is always happening... but what, exactly? And how does it end? We may never know. I kinda wish we'd returned to that lake in the end, to really make things full circle, but that longing for circularness is part of what makes this song so powerful, so haunting, so drawing... Awesome song.
  22. I loved Commander Keen growing up. 4 wasn't my favorite (still love the first one, for sheer nostalgia if nothing else) but it's been so long I wondered if I'd recognize the source material. Low and behold, I do remember it, and perfectly. This is a great adaptation of it. I can remember my frustration trying to get through some of the trickier parts of this level distinctly... of course, I was still in elementary school at the time. Very funky. Very off-kilter, in a good way. Love the instrument choices. Sounds just like it should, I think. Captures the mood of the original perfectly. Wonderful! And good work.
  23. Wow. This remix defies most words, being more than the sum of its parts. Usually, for a mix I really like, I'll go segment by segment through it, describing exactly what I like about each bit. But this song is so good in so many ways that I'm going to find this task difficult this time. So good, I'm speechless. Nevertheless, let me try anyway. The Sound Quality: Excelent. Yes, I had to turn up my speakers, but doing so did not introduce any noise. The low volume is not there to mask any imprefections. Beautiful piano. BEAUTIFUL. The introduction: I don't recognize the melody, and I'm assuming it's been made up by the arranger. But who cares... it's subtle, it's sweet, and it COMPLEMENTS the rest of the peice. A true introduction. In a word, it's heartrending. In a goodway. The First Movement: The timing is... perfect. The dynamics are... perfect. The sustains, the pauses, the flow... perfect. This is wonderful. The Prelude: Beautiful. The Prelude as Background to Aeris: Stunning. I would have never thought to stick these two together... and... and... WOW. This is.. this is... YES! WONDERFUL! GREAT! PERFECT! AWESOME! And the skill to do the prelude with one hand while the other hand works at something completely different... my hat is off to you. The Key Change: I disagree with the judge. It does work here, esspecially because things are so strong immediately afterwards. Strong here meaning "awesome". The Ending: ... ... I need to go cry now. I'm sorry. This is wonderful and beautiful and excelenet piano and it evokes emotion and memory and.. and.. and.. Well Done.
  24. Don't know much about New Age, but as I said, this is the format for a "Variations" peice, except with some modern notions and styles. I have heard New Age music described as "music without climax" so I can see where you might get that here... though, again, I'm not really all that familiar with New Age. But of course, as the saying goes... nothing new under the sun. New Age, like everything else, borrows from old age.
  25. I'm not familiar with the source material here... the only Fire Emblem music I'm familiar with I heard from Super Smash Bros. Melee, although I do appreciate said music. I appreciate this even more. Someone mentioned earlier that it's hard not to compare each piano mix submitted to Time's New Scar, which is unfortunate, because it truely is hard to live up to that particular peice of work. So aside from this paragraph, I'm not going to make that comparison and simply say that it's not that Etude in F# lacks anything, but rather that Time's New Scar has something extra that is unfortunately elusive elsewhere. This lovely piece definitely has a "recorded live in a cathedral" sound to it. That echoing quality colors the whole peice. Perhaps the sustain pedal, as mentioned earlier, could have been used a little less in order to sharpen the image of this song a little more. But whether due to the pedal or the location this was played, the echo makes listening to this peice feel like... like work. It's tiring. And perhaps that's a good thing. Think about the mood this inspires. On the one hand, we have a gentle and beautful melody, somewhat meloncholic. On the other hand we have this blur to the sound, in which notes long past still have their influence on what is being heard now... that feeling of being constantly chased through back allyways, running for safety. A lonely, sad song, that without increasing the tempo or softness or tenderness of the music, inspires a sense of urgancy and tension. Not what you normally expect, and the result is unique I think. I don't know if this is the result the mixer was looking for, but intent isn't important, it's the result I'm interested in. This isn't something I'd want to be listening to every day, but for certain moods, certain feelings, I don't think any other song I know of can compare to this. It brings about something new... and for that, I commend you. Well done.
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