Harmony of a Hunter - The Metroid 25th Anniversary album

[Pyro Paper Planes]

I found your tracks didnt require any work at all really, Pyro. It was pure luck that Melting Sun worked so well before zircon and C-GPO's track on the second disc. By far my favourite transition on the albums. There's nothing wrong with the way your tracks sound.

Huh. That's kind of a compliment in its own way, so thanks.

[Darren1986]

I think it's only now starting to sink in just how big this album has got outside of the OCRemix community, our projects have been featured on Kotaku, Destructoid, Screw Attack, Go Nintendo, The Escapist and probably even more i'm not aware of. Either way, this has blown my expecations wide open, truly the greatest fan tribute we could have provided for Samus's 25th birthday...and to the people who worked on the album, all I can say is...you made it happen! Thanks!

[Sam Dillard]

Huh. That's kind of a compliment in its own way, so thanks.

I enjoyed your track quite a lot Though admittedly I have a bit of a soft spot for piano solos. And also, how dare you insult Disney by referencing my ending music like that!

When I think Disney, I think Hans Zimmer... hehe

Speaking of the Ending Suite though, I uploaded it to Youtube with a bit of video. I posted this already (http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36378) but I figured I'd mention it here too

[Pyro Paper Planes]

On another unrelated note, I'm so happy Metroid II got so much support. I actually thought there would only be one song supporting the entire game. How wrong I was. EVERY major track was covered in some way, and they were all equally awesome (if not some of the best of the entire album). Even the freaking Metroid chamber made it in there (huge props to Stemage for that).

I think it's only now starting to sink in just how big this album has got outside of the OCRemix community, our projects have been featured on Kotaku, Destructoid, Screw Attack, Go Nintendo, The Escapist and probably even more i'm not aware of. Either way, this has blown my expecations wide open, truly the greatest fan tribute we could have provided for Samus's 25th birthday...and to the people who worked on the album, all I can say is...you made it happen! Thanks!

I don't think Kotaku ever got around to posting the album. But yes, it's still a fantastic turn out.

I enjoyed your track quite a lot Though admittedly I have a bit of a soft spot for piano solos. And also, how dare you insult Disney by referencing my ending music like that!

When I think Disney, I think Hans Zimmer... hehe

Speaking of the Ending Suite though, I uploaded it to Youtube with a bit of video. I posted this already (http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36378) but I figured I'd mention it here too

Why thank you.

I wouldn't compare your style to Hans Zimmer, but that's because you both have styles of your own. The fact that I'm comparing you to Hans Zimmer boggles my mind.

I've seen the video. It's very impressive animation... was that by you too? I wish I could replicate that. In the mean time, I'm uploading my own video to my new YouTube profile (so it's not empty).

Actually, one last question: Could you help me design my own website? Kind of random, I know. I've been meaning to do this for some time, and you seem to know what you're doing with your site.

[Sam Dillard]

Why thank you.

I wouldn't compare your style to Hans Zimmer, but that's because you both have styles of your own. The fact that I'm comparing you to Hans Zimmer boggles my mind.

I've seen the video. It's very impressive animation... was that by you too? I wish I could replicate that. In the mean time, I'm uploading my own video to my new YouTube profile (so it's not empty).

Actually, one last question: Could you help me design my own website? Kind of random, I know. I've been meaning to do this for some time, and you seem to know what you're doing with your site.

Yep, I made the vid and animation, minus the Other M footage at the end.

Hehe, well I can do website design though it's not my preferred work, and at the moment I have a few projects to finish up but perhaps in the near future I can look into helping you out with a site. At a mere cost of 99 rupees plus 10 Gold Skulltula Tokens.

[prophetik music]

Leader's Lair

The whistling lead from this track was probably from the source, I'm not familiar with it after all. But it grates my ears how irritating that whistling is. The actual music underneath it is a gorgeous example of how to properly make ambient music which would fit any post-apocalyptic scene in a FPS. The throat singing in the middle of the track is terrific and I'm curious as to whether or not Prophetik literally recorded himself performing it! If Proph was willing to render a version of this without the whistling lead all over it, I'd jump on that in a heartbeat. 7.5/10

Cave Dweller

A memorable track for its weird and funky twists and turns. It does become repetative unfortunately. Still, I love this one. It manages to sound heavy and light at the same time. Grunge-style chords and drums dominate the bottom of the mix, the light synths and bells providing most of the melody. A really unique and interesting track. Don't skip past it! 8/10

=D thanks for the commentary, ori.

for leader's lair, the original track was just that stepwise lead with the whole-tone theme playing, so i had to include it. i went with a theremin sound to help make it stay other-worldly. didn't realize it was so...irritating the throat-singing is not me, but it's a cool thought =)

i agree that cave dweller gets repetitive. i've never done anything in quite that style, so it was kind of new to me, and i had trouble making it unique. good to know that people like it =)

[Pyro Paper Planes]

Another fantastic Metroid song has just been approved to OC Remix:

http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02278/

It has no official name. I highly recommend downloading it. It's a fantastic piano + violin duet.

[DarkeSword]

Another fantastic Metroid song has just been approved to OC Remix:

http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02278/

It has no official name. I highly recommend downloading it. It's a fantastic piano + violin duet.

It's probably not necessary to post about a new remix being posted to OC ReMix on the OC ReMix forums. xD

[prophetik music]

It has no official name.

actually, it does have a name. the name is "Suite for Violin and Piano", using standard classical naming conventions. just because it's not called "OMG METROID ROXX0RS" or something doesn't mean it has no official name.

[Pyro Paper Planes]

Hehe, well I can do website design though it's not my preferred work, and at the moment I have a few projects to finish up but perhaps in the near future I can look into helping you out with a site. At a mere cost of 99 rupees plus 10 Gold Skulltula Tokens.

I totally missed your post there. Thanks.

[Mozzaratti]

Desperation

Ah, this track gave me so much trouble during mastering. Mozzaratti, if you read this, you need to sit down and work on your mastering, the track was really quiet in places, and overbearingly loud in others, to the point where it turned into a wall of sound. The actual track is written really well, and sounded terrific when I boosted the EQ a bit. I really recommend working on mastering of your music to make the most of the talent you obviously have when it comes to arrangement. full marks for the arrangement, but I have to express how critical I am of the way the track sounded. 7/10

*sigh* I've been struggling with mixing since day one of my rig and while I strongly point the finger at how poor Sonar is of a DAW and my low end Tascam box as my output for headphones, I know there's plenty I could still be doing to fix a lot of these problems. And on first hearing the mastered versions you did, I could tell a lot of improvements in the punch factor, but the struggles you had were painfully obvious too. If you've got the time and have any pointers (or better yet, point to a software besides SoundForge and Sonar to mix with), you've got my email. That actually goes for anyone reading the post at that. I'm not a prideful musician, I want to sound the best I can for the pleasure of ears everywhere!

[The Mutericator]

In Mozzaratti's defense, his tracks stand out to me as some of the best on an already excellent album.

[The Orichalcon]

In Mozzaratti's defense, his tracks stand out to me as some of the best on an already excellent album.

Agreed. Mozz's tracks are among the top on the album for terrific arrangement.

I'm not sure what software to recommend as I've only ever used Adobe Audition and FL Studio to do my mastering. The only advice I can give is that (for an album track at least) you want to try and keep everything to a certain dB level.

The trouble I had with desperation was that it started so quietly and ended up being so loud towards the end that there was no way I could really edit it to fit the master volume of the whole album. Darren would tell me it sounded too quiet at the beginning, but then point out that later on in the track stuff was clipping due to the boosts I made to the track.

Darkesword or zircon would probably be able to give you a better idea of how to master your mixes well. Of the tracks on the album, theirs were mastered the best and required no work on my behalf. Even though Darke's tracks for example had quieter and louder parts, they balanced well and nothing ever got too loud or too quiet. That's the key.

The other important thing is EQ. Getting your highs, mids and lows balanced right. Especially for orchestral tracks, boosting the highs can be the difference between a good track and an outstanding track. I always recommend playing with an Equaliser when you're finalising your mix to get it to sound its best.

[prophetik music]

mozz, one of the biggest things i've found regarding amplitude is that there's a difference between something sounding loud and being loud. i don't know how else to say that, but just because you want something to seem quiet doesn't mean it has to be inaudibly quiet.

[Mozzaratti]

Definitely appreciate the compliments and the advice alike, guys. Thanks!

The hi/lo issue is largely probably the Tascam's doing I think, but I have noticed the bass has gotten really thick on everything I've done over the last year or so and no setting changes have happened. Just need to spring for the new gear. And again, Sonar claims levels are fairly evened out though it sounds like I do need to play more with my volume envelopes.

Just really frustrating when I've seen a ton of guys pick up a cheap DAW without any experience and mix better stuff than I do. Maybe my hearing is just shot. x.x; Which is not a pleasant thought!

I did definitely notice the magic that happened to the guitars when you powered up the highs, so maybe I should let ears and instinct step back and just broaden the mix more than I have been.

And again, you did a great job to the whole album, Orichalcon. Thanks to you and Darren and his staff, and all you other crazy talented folks (or is that talented crazy folks?) around here for letting me share the stage to such a great project.

[Pyro Paper Planes]

I agree with all points about Mozzaratti's song. I still enjoy it, even with the mixing issues.

*sits in anticipation of The Orichalcon's thoughts of disc 2*

[Darren1986]

It's great to see some communication between people on the project, I hope that the advice shared is helpful for everyone involved. Mozz, I personally loved your tracks, it wasn't until I sat down and listened to them with Lee that I noticed there were a few problems in terms of volume. I'm glad Lee was able to point them out with me so we could get things fixed up (I believe we sent an e-mail to you to discuss it and you responded.

On a side note, our forums over at Shinesparkers has a Harmony of a Hunter board where users can discuss their thoughts on the album there. In fact, there have been a few comments made there that people on the project may wish to sign up and discuss. Just a thought guys!

www.shinesparkers.net/forums

[Sam Dillard]

Just thought I would mention that I finished a little music vid for

with a bit of a film-style CG intro.

I tried to get it done by the launch of the album but it was just too much work, at about five months or so But feel free to check it out now on teh yooo tooobz

-Sam

[Chernabogue]

I can't tell how amazing this video is... You're a god.

[Darren1986]

Just thought I would mention that I finished a little music vid for

with a bit of a film-style CG intro.

I tried to get it done by the launch of the album but it was just too much work, at about five months or so But feel free to check it out now on teh yooo tooobz

-Sam

The video was excellent Sam, truly enjoyed it. You're a credit to this whole project.

[Sam Dillard]

Thanks guys!

[Mini-Me]

Wow, I seriously cannot believe it's already been a month and a half since the release date. I waited that long to praise this album? Geez.

I'll keep this relatively short. This whole album was/is fantastic, and my only misgiving is that Theophany's haunting "Avien" and was released simultaneously but not as part of this great collection (well, that and Gabriel Terracciano and Shnabubula's Suite for Violin and Piano). Sam Dillard's gorgeous "Into a Green World" in particular is one of the best game remixes I've ever heard (but I guess everyone else has already said how much Sam Dillard came from out of the blue to make their heads explode with awesome; the video was cool too, btw ).

For that matter, Mercury Adept's "In the Beginning..." is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, period. Its understated but captivating tone makes it a perfect opener (much like Level 99's "Quickening" was the perfect opener for "Humans + Gears" two years ago). It floored me when I first heard it, and I felt sure that it would receive epic amounts of praise, but it doesn't look like there have been many reactions. (I think the whole album is similarly "underrated," but I'll focus on this one.) The first three quarters expertly convey the eerie theme of being all alone on a strange alien planet, and the timing and tension between each note is chilling. This dual sense of beauty and hidden danger is intertwined with more lighthearted playing, and it vaguely reminds me of the contrast between The Wingless's "One Girl in All the World" and "All the World in One Girl." The whole thing just carries so much nostalgia and emotion that I wish we could get a whole album of Mercury Adept playing the piano like this. It sounds like he put his whole heart into playing it. Either way, I couldn't help but to put my whole heart into listening to it. Excellent, excellent job.

[Darren1986]

Wow, I seriously cannot believe it's already been a month and a half since the release date. I waited that long to praise this album? Geez.

I'll keep this relatively short. This whole album was/is fantastic, and my only misgiving is that Theophany's haunting "Avien" and was released simultaneously but not as part of this great collection (well, that and Gabriel Terracciano and Shnabubula's Suite for Violin and Piano). Sam Dillard's gorgeous "Into a Green World" in particular is one of the best game remixes I've ever heard (but I guess everyone else has already said how much Sam Dillard came from out of the blue to make their heads explode with awesome; the video was cool too, btw ).

For that matter, Mercury Adept's "In the Beginning..." is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard, period. Its understated but captivating tone makes it a perfect opener (much like Level 99's "Quickening" was the perfect opener for "Humans + Gears" two years ago). It floored me when I first heard it, and I felt sure that it would receive epic amounts of praise, but it doesn't look like there have been many reactions. (I think the whole album is similarly "underrated," but I'll focus on this one.) The first three quarters expertly convey the eerie theme of being all alone on a strange alien planet, and the timing and tension between each note is chilling. This dual sense of beauty and hidden danger is intertwined with more lighthearted playing, and it vaguely reminds me of the contrast between The Wingless's "One Girl in All the World" and "All the World in One Girl." The whole thing just carries so much nostalgia and emotion that I wish we could get a whole album of Mercury Adept playing the piano like this. It sounds like he put his whole heart into playing it. Either way, I couldn't help but to put my whole heart into listening to it. Excellent, excellent job.

Thanks Mini-Mi, I am sure everyone appreciates your kind words. It's been overly successful, more so than I thought it would be. I'm pleased that my suggestion back in December 2010 was one that was greeted with positivity and I can't thank everyone enough for their support. This is the first time I organised a project like this and it'll probably be the last after realising just how much hard work and effort is put into ensuring an album like this is put together, I have great respect for anyone directing an album now.

[Bigfoot]

I just wanted to drop in and say that this album is AMAZING!

[Darren1986]

I just wanted to drop in and say that this album is AMAZING!

Thanks a lot Bigfoot!