OceansAndrew Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 * Your ReMixer name: elzfernomusic * Your real name: Elliot Newman * Your website: http://elzfernomusic.wordpress.com/ * Your userid: 29760 Submission Information * Name of game(s) arranged: Castlevania Bloodlines * Name of individual song(s) arranged: Reincarnated Soul (Stage 1), Iron-Blue Intention (Stage 4) * Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site): o Reincarnated Soul: o Iron Blue Intention: * Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.: Recorded the intro to this very roughly a very long time ago and piece by piece I kept adding little bits until nearly a full song came out of it, and it's since been a good few weeks just tweaking little bits to get rid of the rough edges. For a game I've never played it's one I definitely want to, the soundtrack is great and much under-represented! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Besides the fact that this has synth and guitar energy via crazy arpeggios (par for the course in a Castlevania synth/rock arrangement), you've got little moments like the soft synth gliding above the crunchy guitars at 0:47 that make this stand out from the pack. I really liked it. The first half was pretty conservative but you've got a cool original(?) bridging section followed by a more varied take on Iron Blue Intention. Interpretive enough for me. The drums are a little high in the mix, I would pull those back. Also, the synth pad at 0:39... I almost laughed. Not sure if that was your ironic intention, but the use of it again later for a longer period of time leads me to think it wasn't. I'd replace that with a meatier organ or something less thin, that's not getting the job done. Overall song volume could be louder. Is the production enough of a problem where I'd make you take another look? Nah. This felt finished enough, I think people would enjoy it in the state it's in. We'll see what others think. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Drums are pretty fakey, especially the kick. I'd like to hear a bit of room reverb, on it, just the make them more realistic. They're programmed well, I love the tom rolls as we get into the mix. Synth and guitar arpeggios are nice. The source melody took a bit of listening back and forth to get, since I'm unfamiliar with the game. I think fans would easily be able to recognise it, as I could after a few listens. So the question is whether or not the production is a big enough problem to warrant a rejection. The arrangement is perfect, I don't think anything needs changing. Even the synth pad I think adds a nice nostalgic touch to the mix that I wouldn't change. I'd really like to hear the drum quality touched up, and maybe the mix volume boosted a little. Otherwise I'm happy to let this one go through. It's up to the author and the rest of the panel whether we just put this through now or have it touched up beforehand. I'll give it a YES anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Wow, awesome arrangement and some stellar playing. A+ arrangement here; I loved the minor 1-off rhythm changes in the backing chugs. Also props for picking out some of the more under-covered Castlevania tracks. Nice variety of lead sounds, and dead-on articulating. Production was decent, but could have been a bit louder, and the drums could be toned down slightly. I actually really liked the synth, and though it may be my synth bias, I was feeling it. I'm not huge on the conditional vote, but I think it's appropriate here. Tone down the drums slightly and boost the overall volume, and we're totally good. yes (conditional) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Nice performance, decent arrangement and mixing. Drums didn't bug me all that much mixwise, but if I had to guess, they sound like EZD's DFH expansion kit, which has an awfully treble-y sounding snare and a not that great kick. Both could be beefier in my opinion. It does have some great crashes though.[/irrelevant]. Maybe the Steven Slate no-brainer deal would have helped this one achieve a more solid triumph, but I'm cool with it as it. Nice work! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 This'll be me repeating what everyone's already said. Performance is great, and the arrangement is quite good. The synth isn't bothering me too much, but I've probably been listening to OA's stuff too much lately. I'm also a bit of a sucker for the nostalgic factor. Overall, the mix is a bit low volume-wise, but the drums are a bit loud in comparison. I'd love to see that fixed up, but it's not to a point where I feel like it absolutely must be changed before this is released. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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