Ys - Tower of the Shadow of Death (Hot Darm Tower Power)

[Aleph]

Hi everyone

First post, first submission. I recently purchased a guitar as a gift for a friend, and to test it out I recorded an interpretation of "The Tower of The Shadow of Death". I was so pleased with the results that I've decided to submit it for it for OC approval. I used Toontrack's drumkit from hell to program the drums, and the bass is just a generic midi track unfortunately, but the rest is me on the guitar. I'm dead tired of working on this, but I'd still appreciate feedback, especially if I've violated any obvious no-no's. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do

http://90percenttrue.com/veronica/Hot%20Darm%20Power%20Tower.mp3

Edit: This track was meant to be listened to at a looooooooooooud volume

[SoulinEther]

The source is

, right? It's pretty awesome.

Alright. This remix. In one word, I'd say it's conservative.

In two words, I'd say it's conservative, while also being pretty sweet.

Your version sounds a bit like a cover, and musically I don't think it goes much farther than the original does, so I think its shortness is not in your favor here. Say something more with this song. Add a solo, mutate the melody, add your own stuff, change progression, or something else that is completely original and innovative that knocks off socks. It's your remix, so... make it yours! Unless your aiming for a cover, in which case, this would be not bad. Just check out production issues.

Production-wise, it's pretty good. Bass was weak - it wasn't bad, but you should probably replace it with something more substantial and meaty, or maybe layer it with another bass for a richer sound (and you can probably find something free that'll foot the bill, too) More bass-y you could say!... Guitar was great. Drums were ok, I didn't do a really serious head-to-head comparison but they seemed to be doing mostly the same thing as the source. If not, cool.

In short, I don't think this is ready to submit to OCR. If you're feeling burnt out on it, maybe put it down for a bit and come back to it, or if you're the type that must get it all done in one sitting, then, I'm not sure lol.

[Aleph]

Thanks SoulinEther for blowing my blowing my cover as an OC Newbie, but this was exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for. I saw that "too conservative" was on top of the WiP checklist, and for all intents and purposes, this is a cover. I'll take a look at the arrangement and see if I can jazz it up a bit.In the meantime, I'd still appreciate any other feedback, as I am still proud of the results so far. Also, if anyone knows of a free, decent sampling program to help out with the bass track, a point in it's direction would be appreciated. :)Thanks,Aleph

[Eino Keskitalo]

Great source, and good take on it too. Guitar playing is very good, and I also like the way you use the clap sound with the drums. Now, you really need to expand this. One thing that comes to my mind is that the energy level as it is now is in the same gear throughout. This can sound great (especially if you do some daring variations on the arrangement side (with harmonies, countermelodies, etc)), but you may also want to consider to build it up and blow it through the roof at some kind of a climax. I do like the style here.

Good work so far - I hope you keep going!

--Eino

[SnappleMan]

Too conservative my ass. Instrumentation counts. The only thing I'd say is to liven up the drums, bass and rhythm section overall. Play with all the awesome time changes and odd meters going on here. Seriously. Don't change things, expand on them. Fuck OCRs "too conservative" bullshit.

[Eino Keskitalo]

Those sounds you've replaced the synths from the first part after the intro - exceptionally delicious.

--Eino

[Aleph]

Thank you Snappleman and Evktalo for your encouraging posts. :)Just got off the phone with a drummer friend of mine, he's gonna take a look at the percussion track for me this weekend, and possibly lay down a handdrum track or two. The results should be interesting if nothing else. In the meantime, I'll start looking around for bass samples, hope to have this finished soon.