OceansAndrew Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Title: Rise of Kuros --> Project Track <-- Submission provided with Maximum Zazz Your ReMixer name: Brandon Strader Your real name: Brandon E. Strader Your website: http://www.bstrader.net/ Your userid: 3123 Name of game(s) arranged: Wizards & Warriors 2: Ironsword Name of individual song(s) arranged: Intro Additional information: David Wise I wanted to make a Wizards & Warriors 2: Ironsword project at OCR. When I started coming up with too many ideas for projects, I pulled this one from active duty (though it may revive someday if the demand is good enough). Anyway, I was inspired by the music and the memories from my childhood of playing this game, and that memorable Fabio poster (which I still have!) I created this orchestration, and in a fit of rage, sent it to David Wise along with some random nerd-ish praise. He received my message, and replied, saying succinctly, "I like this remix." Here's a link to an orchestration that inspired the creation of the theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB3sd2BAxys "Prokofiev - Romeo & Juliet" When I heard the intro theme, I immediately felt that it should be an orchestration. It's ironic that 'Rise of Kuros' is an orchestration of a chiptune inspired by an orchestration. In hindsight, I wish I had the skill or talent to make something as epic as "Romeo & Juliet", but in general I'm reasonably content with my meager progression as an artist. I love the shifts in mood in 'Rise of Kuros', including the vast changes in tempo that go on. It begins to gallop and a sweet trumpet starts tooting. Then it smolders and dies, like so many defeated Kuros-corpses in the clouds. I can definitely see this type of escalation followed by a slow death becoming a staple of future orchestrations. This was my first orchestral remix and I am very happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Not something I'd have pictured coming from Brandon, but overall things are nicely orchestrated. Love the low brass bringing the heat. There is also some nice detail on the different articulations, which are a nice touch. Overall everything is arranged pretty well, although things feel a little mechanical at times. Overall I feel like the piece is missing a real climax, and towards the middle-end it get's a tad stagnant. Aside from that I do have to say I'm impressed and enjoying this piece. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 The sequencing is slightly stiff in some spots, but overall i was feeling this arrangement. The strings on the right side in some sections are slightly dry, and the bass volume is a little high overall. Otherwise, it seemed pretty nice, though i think more tuba throughout would have helped the bass feel more centered. The one arrangement issue is that the most exciting part of the track is the intro, and from there, it sort of hits a plateau. It's pleasant and stately, but it's not as cool as the intro. Still is good though, and above the bar for me. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Seemed like this was potentially clipping/distorting a bit with some of the huge hits at the beginning and would love a second opinion. The denser parts definitely sound a bit muddy. Right off the bat, I'm definitely loving this arrangement. The string articulations weren't the greatest, but were definitely strong enough to work well. The placement of the instruments worked well enough to not expose the samples too greatly. The way the melody was altered on the woodwind and strings left it a bit less melodious than the original, but it wasn't a huge deal. I dunno why this doesn't have more votes, myself included. I'm sure the more orchestral minded Js could give some great feedback on the production side, but everything here was poppin' in a good way. The structure held pretty fast to the original, but the arrangement was definitely expanded and personalized well. Great stuff, and DEFINITELY glad to see Wizards & Warriors II get that love. It's been too long for that game. Nice work, Brandon, you're hitting a nice stride here, bro. YES EDIT (7/1/2012): Way back, I initially thought parts of the arrangement were using some of the Prokofiev's "Romeo & Juliet" verbatim, so I had major reservations despite the initial YES vote. But I was dead wrong, so sorry for holding this up long past due. Despite the purposeful similarities, it's very clear the IronSword title theme was just stylistically inspired by Prokofiev's work, but isn't an arrangement of Prokofiev, so everything kosher as far as source eligibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Definitely liked the approach here, and it's pleasantly surprising hearing something like this from Brandon. Not much to pick at, really, the song is good. It felt a little bit empty and some additional verb would have been welcome. The opening thuds were the slightest bit distorted, but I'm not seeing that as a big issue. YEAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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