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OCRA-0010 - Radical Dreamers: Thieves of Fate


MechaFone
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Wow, it's out!...I didn't even know this was up and coming, lol. I've never heard the whole soundtrack myself, but I'm hearing some very well contructed efforts in this soundtrack mix. Completely unexpected (on my part) and in every way a joy to hear, y'all start downloading -now-.

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Downloading the torrent now. I also didn't expect this to be released. I didn't notice an official "comments thread" for it over at the projects board, too. Perhaps Taucer and co. are busy at MAGfest. Bet they're going to have a lot of fun promoting on the panel and such.

It's been an excellent beginning to 2008 so far. With vgmix finally launching, the biggest Dwelling of Duels month ever, and now this remix album...I've been enjoying the ride!

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Just finished my first listen through. I love the fact that this album has a lot of vocals, guitar, and middle eastern influences. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the source since it's such a niche game. Here are some impressions of what stood out to me:

Thieves of Fate: definitely didn't expect vocals in this one. Who's singing? Prophet? Love the lyrics, love the singing, love the guitars, love the pop-rock feel of this song. My only complaint is that the vocals get a bit drowned in some parts toward the end of the track. Still though, great job overall, guys. Especially enjoyed the multilayering of the vocals at the end of the track, makes me wished this was used more. I'm assuming that level 99 did the electric guitar parts. Awesome work with that. Taucer rocks as usual.

Starbright: Very soothing track. Nice work with the sax as usual, Prophet.

Sexy Boy: wow...whoever you are, this track is excellent. Where in blue hell did you come from? The female vocals are very soulful and seductive. You've got an excellent voice. The trip-hop feel of the track is very Massive Attack-ish. Love the violin samples and occasional "cuts" in the track. I wonder if the singer is the remixer. If so, then this is one hell of a debut. If not, then again this is one hell of a debut. Minor complaint: more variation in the lyrics would've been awesome.

Snakebone Pit: of all of your tracks in this album, this one stood out to me the most, OA. Rock on, indeed. Nice orchestration in the intro. And when the guitars come in, it becomes a different beast. Love your playing, man.

Scar-stealing Girl: very nice combination of styles in this track. It's very mellow in the beginning (Taucer), then it becomes electronic mid-track (Ross). A surprisingly nice transition. Love the ethnic percussion.

Running After You: Ah...Darangen, one of my favorite remixers. This track has a very similar basic structure to "Collision"; starting out very mellow then blasting everyone with those excellent guitars. Loving this.

Requiem for Another World: very ethnic sounding. DA's vocals are "Cranberries-esque" as usual. While the singing didn't impress me as much as the stuff in "Sexy Boy", the harmonization of the vocals with the track are quite cool. Nice work, overall.

Hallucinogenic: the name of this track describes the vibe perfectly...immediately when those drowned out vocals came in, I thought this was going to rock. Love the Middle Eastern sounds and percussion. The distortion on the guitars are such an excellent effect, very "stoner rock" there. The guitar solo mid-track is like a cross of Jimmy Hendrix and Dream Theater. Nice acoustic guitar at the end, very Arabian. One of my favorite tracks of this album here.

That's it from me for now. I've been listening to my favorites over and over as I wrote these impressions, and everything still stands. To those who I did not credit and tracks I did not talk about, nice job. This album KICKS ASS.

PS: I demand lyrics for Thieves of Fate and Requiem for Another World!

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This project sounds great so far, even though I've only gotten to Thieves of Fate. The chord structure in this song, especially the chorus, is strangely reminiscent of Closing Time from Semisonic, and that's not a bad thing in any way shape or form. I only have one question:

Can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get an instrumental version of this song? The acoustic work is amazing, and I'd love to hear it alone.

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This project sounds great so far, even though I've only gotten to Thieves of Fate. The chord structure in this song, especially the chorus, is strangely reminiscent of Closing Time from Semisonic, and that's not a bad thing in any way shape or form. I only have one question:

Can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get an instrumental version of this song? The acoustic work is amazing, and I'd love to hear it alone.

The chord progression for the verses is supposed to be based on the second half of the original track, where the pace speeds up (and in the game you see the mansion etc), where as the chorus is the progression for the main melody

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Complete Project Review:

GREAT project. The whole thing is an amalgam of very surprising instrumentation choices, ethnic instruments, and smooth jazz sounds. It’ really unlike most of what we’ve seen here before. I’m one of the few human beings that has actually beaten the game, and it does an excellent job of interpreting the soundtrack.

Days of Summer:

Nice subdued opening, great acoustic work, and a sweet lounge music sound. It helps that this is one of the best themes in the history of gaming, but you did a great job with it.

Thieves of Fate:

The chord structure in this song, especially the chorus, is strangely reminiscent of Closing Time from Semisonic, and that's not a bad thing in any way shape or form. The piano and guitar work extremely well together, and the backbeat works as well.

I'm a little bit iffy about the electric piano coming in at 3:42 and 4:32, not because it's a bad patch, but it sounds harsh in tone and volume as opposed to the rest of the soundfield. I didn't really care for the e-piano riffing at 4:32 especially. I really like the inversion at 5:32 as you swing into gear for the end of the song. (At least it sounded like an inversion to me, maybe you just moved the whole shot up an octave higher.) I don’t particularly care for the vocals, but I almost never do.

Fury and Tears:

This mix has a really good energy to it. Sounds like a Benny Hill chase scene in some places, but the electric guitars make up for it. Good take on the original theme though.

Starbright:

Excellent sax work, right from the gate, and amazing work weaving channels together without overloading the mix. The beginning has a nice busy street jazz sound to it, reminds me in a lot of ways of the soundtrack to SimCity 4. If the background sounds are any indication, this is a live performance, which makes it even more impressive.

Loneliness:

Neat decision bringing the piano and guitar in on the exact same line. This immediately shows a great new age/electronic flavor. I like the bongos as well. Good synth work all around, it can be hard to mix that with orchestral and make it sound really good. The build at 3:32 into the electric guitars was subtle, unexpected, and I liked it a lot.

Thrash’s Snakebone Pit

This makes me think of James Bond, and I have no idea why. It’s big, it’s overblown, and it’s fun. It’s a very Monty Norman-esque mix. Adventure, danger, spies, and really loud guitars.

The Scar-Stealing Girl

At the beginning, I’m not even sure how to classify this. Synth, definitely, but what else? It’s got a really slow, deliberate backbeat, and I like the kind of low-fi quality of some of the samples up ‘till 1:52, where we drop into an excellent piano solo. Actually, an unbelievable piano solo. It’s sending tingles down my spine. Wow. I love piano solos, and this is an amazing arrangement of the theme. The electric guitars at 2:45 only help it. Then at 3:22 we whip out the Bongos and go really electronica. Nice ping-ponging with this section. It bounces back and forth over my headphones. Good panning work. I like the (basically) guitar solo at 5:02, and the music box is a wonderful touch. This is the best mix of the album in my opinion.

Running After You:

Darangen doesn’t do orchestral. 10 bucks says it goes electric before 2 minutes. Oh, I was right. Still though, great work with ethnic instruments at the opening, and the trademark Darangen shred still sounds great. You’re weaving between orchestral to industrial. That is just f***ing impressive. This mix kicks ass. Great work, you never disappoint.

Requiem for Another World:

What instrument is opening here? It sounds vaguely like a panpipe, but I don’t think it is. There’s a very nice ethnic music quality to this, there’s a lot of instruments I’ve heard before but I can’t identify them. I actually like your voice work here, it fits well. You have my permission to keep it. :P

Fuego Frio:

Is that an accordion? For some reason this reminds me of another song I’ve heard that was supposed to make me feel cold. Originally parts of this sounded like they had a Russian flavor to them, but I’m also getting kind of a waltz/flamenco/tango vibe as well, which is probably closer to what you intended, since the mix name is Spanish. Either way, a very well done waltz mix.

Hallucinogenic:

The voices! They’re back! Were any mushrooms harmed in the creation of this mix? Because it certainly sounds that way. Great production and mastering work to make it sound like that. Part of it is the nature of the mix, but my only complaint here would be that it wasn’t significantly musical. But who cares what I think?

Confronto Finale:

Hooray trance! Nice shift to orchestral using the drum line, that was sneaky. There’s a lot of pent up energy in this song, and even though it’s energetic, it just feels somewhat like it’s never entirely let out. But it’s still a great mix. Good work switching so seamlessly between orchestral and electronica.

Summer’s Dream:

Marimba. Now there’s an instrument you don’t hear every day. This project has a ton of ethnic instruments. It does a beautiful job portraying the theme though. It’s quiet, contemplative, and it has a really great resonance. Last time I heard a marimba used like this was the Riven soundtrack. Furthermore, I’m astounded that you just did 7 minutes and 41 seconds of solo marimba and I didn’t get sick of it. Way to break the mold with this one.

Le Tresor Interdit:

Epic. Clarinet for the lead is a really interesting and awesome decision. It really carries the mix well. The acoustic work in the back of the mix fills it in really well. This is really a great example of the flavor of the entire project. Great mix, great project. Nicely done.

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Requiem for Another World:

What instrument is opening here? It sounds vaguely like a panpipe, but I don’t think it is. There’s a very nice ethnic music quality to this, there’s a lot of instruments I’ve heard before but I can’t identify them. I actually like your voice work here, it fits well. You have my permission to keep it. :P

Glad to know my voice is mine, still...

Le Tresor Interdit:

Epic. Clarinet for the lead is a really interesting and awesome decision. It really carries the mix well. The acoustic work in the back of the mix fills it in really well. This is really a great example of the flavor of the entire project. Great mix, great project. Nicely done.

Dude, that's a saxophone.

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Summer’s Dream:

Marimba. Now there’s an instrument you don’t hear every day. This project has a ton of ethnic instruments. It does a beautiful job portraying the theme though. It’s quiet, contemplative, and it has a really great resonance. Last time I heard a marimba used like this was the Riven soundtrack. Furthermore, I’m astounded that you just did 7 minutes and 41 seconds of solo marimba and I didn’t get sick of it. Way to break the mold with this one.

Wow, thank you!!

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I'm listening through now, and quite enjoying it.

-Great opening track.

-Totally agree with the comment about Closing Time

-Didn't like the vocals on Sexy Boy much. I'd have preferred for the track to get glitchier I think.

Question: Will we see a lossless version of this, or at least consistent bitrates among the files?

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Love this! Another fantastic release from OcRemix!.

Every track was a winner for me except track 6 Sexy boy.

Evidentially others like it but it just wasn't for me.

But other than that track just a great release. I hope people take notice of this release!

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Dude, that's a saxophone.

Dammit! As I was listening to this, I was actually thinking "That sounds a lot like a sax, but it definitely sounds like a clarinet too. Sax or clarinet? What is it? I obviously went with clarinet, which means I am now the proud owner of [Epic Fail]. So is it an alto sax, or what? I'm not too good at id'ing the different types.

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Dammit! As I was listening to this, I was actually thinking "That sounds a lot like a sax, but it definitely sounds like a clarinet too. Sax or clarinet? What is it? I obviously went with clarinet, which means I am now the proud owner of [Epic Fail]. So is it an alto sax, or what? I'm not too good at id'ing the different types.

That's definitely a saxophone, I would know since my main instrument is clarinet and I play tenor sax on the side. It definitely isn't a tenor I can tell you that and it sounds higher so it has to be either an alto or a soprano. The main melody sounds like a soprano, but the background licks sound alto-ish...but I'm almost certain the feel tells me it should be more of the same instrument...so I'm not sure of which myself. If I had to put money on it, I'd have to say it's a soprano saxophone.

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Fuego Frio:

Is that an accordion? For some reason this reminds me of another song I’ve heard that was supposed to make me feel cold. Originally parts of this sounded like they had a Russian flavor to them, but I’m also getting kind of a waltz/flamenco/tango vibe as well, which is probably closer to what you intended, since the mix name is Spanish. Either way, a very well done waltz mix.

You are correct, sir. It is an accordian. Hmm... Russian, eh? I didn't quite intend that, but I'll consider it a welcome bonus. :P Thank you.

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Don't know if anyone's aware of this yet, but track 6 is completely missing from the direct rar file download. Someone mentioned Sexy Boy and I hadn't heard it. That would be why.

EDIT: Nevermind. Keep it.

No, not really. For one thing, nice to see you back, Elly, haven't heard from you since Dark Side of Phobos. Now, as for the mix.... As a piece of music, I like the sound. It sounds like a Linkin Park/Nelly Furtado mashup more than anything. Very Mike Shinoda remix flavor to the instrumentation, reminiscent of some of Fort Minor's stuff. I like the beat chopping. BUT... it doesn't fit with the rest of the project. Not that stylistic changes are bad, but I think what hurts this one most is the lyrics. Your voice sounds great, but the lyrics are just silleh. A little more work there and it could've been gold. But keep in mind I am HARSH on vocals and lyrics, so take it with a grain of salt.

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my favorite song was the first track, but out of curiosity, darangens track, running after you, was also used in the dwelling of duels contest.Is it allowed to use a song already posted somewhere else for an ocr site project?

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